Going by the need to extend polio immunisation coverage to border areas between Ogun and Lagos states, Ogun state government has initiated a collaborative effort with Lagos state government on the effective control of polio, making combined strategies to stem the spread of the infectious viral disease.
The strategic plan which is tripartite in nature, having the Representatives of Ogun and Lagos states, World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nation Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF), is expected to emphasise the need to make deliberate efforts that accommodate every child in the Outbreak Response Campaign that would take place at the border towns and remote areas.
Speaking at the strategic meeting held in Abeokuta, Ogun state capital, Elijah Ogunsola, Executive Secretary, Ogun State Primary Healthcare Development Board, stated that the objective of the synchronisation meeting was to improve on polio eradication efforts of the two states, urging parents and guardians to make their children available during the campaign.
Rosemary Onyibe, the WHO Zonal Coordinator, Lagos and Ogun states, said that all stakeholders have roles to play in the war against polio, adding that the onus was on all to plan assiduously to ensure every child was immunised, just as the UNICEF Specialist, Hayon Nam, added that the Outbreak Response Campaign was the first in many years in Southwest Nigeria to fight the infectious viral disease.
Eniola Erinosho, the Director, Medical Service and Disease Control, Lagos state, requested the stakeholders to be accountable in their efforts to eradicate polio, noting that both states shared borders in about 10 Local Government Areas and the two states would put all efforts in motion to ensure that poliomyelitis is jointly fought to stem the spread of the disease.
BusinessDay reports that part of the recommendations made at the end of the meeting, include; to target older settlements for end process monitoring, to ensure border communities are assessed for quality activities, to ensure that coverage under 90 percent should be redone all together, and to ensure that all Activities Plan Template was filled in triplicate for both states before submission.
Meanwhile, Babatunde Ipaye, Commissioner for Health, Ogun state has declared that about 1.2 million children under the ages of five, particularly those at the border communities, are expected to be immunised in the ongoing Outbreak Response (OBR) campaign, saying the areas are more susceptible to outbreak due to migration of people.
Ipaye, who monitored the ongoing Outbreak Response campaign at Imoba Community in Ifo Local Government Area of the state, said, “Because of the sheer determination of the State and its partners, we have said every child must be reached, no matter what. We have decided to kick Polio out of our dear State and the response from the communities is also encouraging”, he said.
The Commissioner noted that government was more determined to kick the disease out of its communities, especially along the borders and hard to reach areas, adding that the programme was meant for every child, irrespective of their parents’ state of origin, status, religion or political leaning.
Also speaking Richard Banda, the Head Technical Officer, World Health Organisation (WHO), noted that the State was peculiar due to its many border areas, stressing that it was important stakeholders take inter-border immunization seriously, as the present outbreak was caused by a virus that originated from the northern part of the country into the State through movement of people along the borderlines.
RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta
