JUMADA-AWWAL 7, 1429 A.H.
TUESDAY, MAY 13 2008
Print This Page 
Journalists urged to contribute towards polio eradication
Stories by RABI A. BATURE
JOURNALISTS in Kano state have been advised to rise to the challenge and contribute their quota in the fight against polio in the society.
Mr. Kunle Sani, chairman, Journalists Against Polio and for immunisation (JAP), gave the advice at an interactive meeting on the role of journalists in polio eradication in Nigeria, held at the Kano Press Centre, recently.
According to him, these diseases are the primary causes of deformation among children and these often occur largely due to non-compliance or rejection of the vaccines.
He added that in Nigeria, the disease is prevalent in the Northern region where the vaccine is perceived to be harmful, saying as a result, it has the highest number of people with physical disability with attendant socio-economic consequences.
He added that positive reportage and sensitisation of the public on immunisation against poliomyelitis and other child killer disease are some of the ways of tackling the problem.
He said as journalists, there is the need to contribute to the fight against these diseases by not only constantly informing the public but also educating them on the dangers that these diseases pose to the children.
Sani said that all of these are geared toward attaining by 2015, a reduction in child mortality by two-third, so that children can survive the first five years of their lives including those from Nigeria.
The chairman said there is also the need to come together and go into developmental issues, as at most times 70 to 80 per cent of coverage were given to politics, adding that there are more important issues than politics because health matters are very important to the lives of the people.
He said journalists should report issues that will change the perception of people on certain issues.
On his part, the acting zonal coordinator of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr. A. Suleiman, maintained that polio is a disease of children under five years of age, which is normally characterised by fever which results to paralysis, saying that the disease paralyses the muscles of the respiratory system.
He said some of the strategies for eradication of the disease include strong routine immunisation, active surveillances as well as campaign.
He further noted that the benefit of polio eradication is that over five million disabilities have been prevented and called on journalists to disseminate positive information on polio vaccine and also to enlighten the public on routine immunisation because it is the strong backbone of polio eradication.
He said some of the problems of polio is weak commitment of leadership at local government level and there is need for more enlightenment because every child is at risk until every child is protected.
