Polio Eradication:
Polio Eradication: Lest We
Forget
By Abdulhamid Babatunde
In the midst of the widespread national hysteria over the COVID
19 pandemic, news that Nigeria has finally achieved a polio-free
status is indeed a silver lining that raises optimism about the
ultimate victory of humanity in the inescapable battle against
virulent viruses. Conquest of the wild polio virus is particularly
worth celebrating and giving thanks to God Almighty after decades
of seemingly futile scientific and medical onslaughts world-wide to
halt its irreversible crippling impact on the life prospects of
children who were not vaccinated against it.
No review of the nation’s arduous battle against polio can be
complete or objective without reference to the unfortunate events
that led to several months of orchestrated mass phobia of the oral
polio vaccine (OPV) and eventual suspension of the immunisation
exercise in some northern states between 2003 and 2004. It all
started with a rumour linked to an alleged internet report that the
polio vaccine contained anti-fertility agents that would render
children impotent in their adulthood which gained traction from the
involvement of some northern pharmacologists, pharmacists and
clerics in pushing the narrative.
Even as Federal health authorities initiated moves to contain the
episode, political, religious and community leaders in the affected
northern states were more inclined towards the pre-existing deep
distrust of WHO and UNICEF health programmes, stemming from what
was seen as overzealous persistence with polio vaccination of
children, and not more prevalent and deadlier diseases like malaria
and typhoid.
Professor Emeritus Umaru Shehu headed an expert panel set up by the
then Minister of Health, Professor Eyitayo Lambo to conduct
efficacy and safety tests on the OPV in South Africa after which
the minister affirmed that the vaccine was indeed safe in December
2003. But this was largely ignored as the crisis escalated and five
northern states (Niger, Bauchi, Kano, Zamfara and Kaduna) halted
polio immunisation, a development that raised regional and
international concern over the alarming implications of reversing
the difficult progress in getting rid of the wild polio virus in
areas showing as much as 30% increase in prevalence of the disease
that cripples unvaccinated children for life.
A fresh outbreak of polio was reported in Kano in October 2003,
unleashing a new strain of the virus that spread rapidly to other
parts of the country where there was no resistance or interruption
to polio immunisation, but this sinister scenario met with hardened
indifference to the doomed fate of paralysis facing thousands of
voiceless vulnerable children as captured in the Kano State
government’s January 2004 alibi describing suspension of the
immunisation as “…a lesser of two evils, to sacrifice two, three,
four, five even ten children to polio than allow hundreds of
thousands or possibly millions of girl-children likely to be
rendered infertile.” It didn’t matter that the “sacrifice” was
carried out on the altar of unverified (scientific) information
that the rest of the polio-fighting world confidently ignored ! Or
that some “enlightened” governors sneaked their children to OPV
friendly states for vaccination while sacrificing others to the
lesser evil !
It was a desperate situation requiring drastic remedial action but
delicately driven by highly emotive matters of world politics and
faith. For a while it seemed as if the differences were hopelessly
irreconcilable. To the best of my recollection, it took the
momentous meeting of minds of two humanely motivated truce-seekers
who were seized by the hapless plight of the voiceless vulnerable
children “sacrificed” to a “lesser evil” of irreversible paralysis
to optimize their spiritual and governance acumen respectively in
facilitating a harmonized transparent process for the diverse
disputants to come to terms with the rest of the world’s verifiable
consensus on the efficacy and safety of the oral polio vaccine.
Thus, Alhaji AlMustapha Haruna Jokolo, 19th Emir of Gwandu and Dr
(Mrs) Ajoritsedere Josephine Awosika (MFR, mni) pioneer National
Coordinator/Chief Executive of the National Programme on
Immunisation (NPI) were destined to spearhead the formation of the
historic Joint Federal Government/Jama’atu Nasril Islam All
Inclusive Final Verification Committee On Safety Of The Oral Polio
Vaccine which brought together a select team of traditional rulers,
Islamic scholars, pharmacists and related medical science
professionals and the media that eventually and amicably resolved
the seemingly intractable orchestrated stalemate over the safety of
the OPV. Remarkably, Emir Jokolo selflessly delegated HRH Shehu of
Dikwa, Alhaji Kyari Ibn Umar Elkanemi of blessed memory to lead the
team as Chairman but later became the chief endorser of the polio
immunisation campaign as he featured on national television giving
his own son drops of OPV !
The objective of the Committee was to conduct a final all-inclusive
verification exercise for the purpose of making an authoritative
and conclusive declaration on the authenticity and safety of the
OPV for the benefit and enlightenment of the general public. It
resolved to take samples of OPV earlier tested by Kano State
Committee and from recently delivered OPV stock of the National
Programme on Immunisation (NPI) Strategic Stores, from NAFDAC
quarantine stock and from Sokoto, Zamfara and Kaduna States as
collated by JNI. These were to be taken for verification tests in
South Africa, Indonesia and India by the Committee.
At the end of the tests which lasted from February 8 – 20, 2004 ,
the Committee concluded that based on the test results, including
information obtained during interactions held with
scientists/professionals in countries visited, the OPV when used as
recommended in the global polio eradication programme is safe. It
recommended that the Federal Government should ensure that there
are public and private institutions with state-of-the-art equipment
to be able to carry out such tests and should, as a matter of
urgency, and at all costs encourage local production of vaccines.
It also enjoined all stakeholders to disseminate the findings of
the Committee through an aggressive public enlightenment campaign
to enable the public make informed decisions while relevant
agencies should be further strengthened for research and quality
assurance of vaccines.
It is worth pointing out that the success of the Committee’s
assignment was uniquely facilitated by the ever calm and collected
but firm and focussed administrative dexterity of Dr Awosika, which
effectively trickled down and across the dedicated and disciplined
staff as well as the efficiently synergized departments of the
National Programme on Immunization (NPI). The entire organization
was marvellously motivated to achieving hitch-free, result-oriented
outcome, without fear or favour having regard to the critical
importance of its mandate to the healthy survival of Nigeria’s
voiceless and vulnerable children as its future leaders.
I sincerely hope that this submission will fill some obvious gaps
in our celebration of the declared eradication of polio in Nigeria
as intended. There are important matters arising from this memo
that were then vital lessons but now forgotten as the virus of
institutional amnesia remains endemic in our governance culture.
Sixteen years later COVID 19 caught us napping over issues like
ensuring that there are public and private institutions with
state-of-the-art equipment for conducting necessary medical and
scientific tests and the need to encourage local production of
vaccines as a matter of urgency and at all costs. Above all we must
be on our guard in pre-empting the abrupt disruption of national
interest policies and programmes which can be very difficult to
salvage once the damage is done.
ABDULHAMID BABATUNDE was Secretary of the Joint Federal
Government/Jama’atu Nasril Islam All Inclusive Final Verification
Committee On Safety Of The Oral Polio Vaccine.