SAFAR 2, 1430 A.H.
TUESDAY JANUARY 27 2009.
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Polio immunization: A point of contention
By ADO ABUBAKAR MUSA
POLIO is an infectious disease that affects the central nervous system and can cause temporary or permanent paralysis. It affects mostly children within the range of 0-5 years of age.
In the whole, the International Immunization Campaign have slashed the number of countries where polio virus is still breading. This includes Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Afghanistan, Niger and Sumailia. According to this organization, 99 per cent of all new polio cases in the world are in Nigeria, Pakistan and India.
However, in Africa, Nigeria has been attached with the blame for the spread of polio virus in most parts of West Africa. This is as a result of the delay in accepting the vaccination drive.
Polio immunization is an aid offered by World Health Organization (WHO), to most poorest countries on the glob, especially in Africa, whose citizens are said to have been infected or likely to be infected by polio disease.
A lot of exercises and campaigns of polio vaccination have been going on everywhere across the world. But the point of contention of these exercises and campaigns lies in the people's concern about. Why are various humanitarian organizations across the world including WHO, always unduly thrive to eradicate polio as against other equally dangerous and deadly diseases bedeviling the human race?
For instance last July, Dr. Jong Wook Lee, who became Director General of the health organization and once ran its polio surveillance and immunization programme, has made eradication a top priority. Rotary International has contributed more than $600 million to the polio eradication coalition, which has raised $3 billion. Other partners include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, various business and donor countries. Volunteers play a critical role; 20 million people have taken part in the immunization programme.
Nonetheless, if such a drive is taken to see the back of polio diseases, what about other dangerous diseases like meningitis, tuberculosis that bedevil human beings?
Due to this unequally consideration to all diseases, people particularly Muslims in the Nigerian's North, have into view of polio vaccination as just a mechanism or strategy that is being used by the white people (America and the West), to achieve their surreptitious objectives. These people hold that they do not accept polio exercise simply because there are other common diseases that spread among people for which they need to be assisted, but government and humanitarian organizations do not give significance to such diseases as is being given to polio vaccination. Many people are now in the hospital suffering from one disease to another that needs urgent medical assistance.
Surprisingly, according to those who resisted the campaign, day-in-day-out, people that do go to hospitals are not given the necessary aid over their problems, but when it comes to polio vaccination, they are being followed house-to-house to immunize their children. Moreover, for people to be persuaded, gifts such as soap and mosquito nets are issued to those who allow their kids to be immunized.
This is purposely done to get people's acceptance. Another instrument being used is liaising with traditional rulers and religious leaders such that they would talk to their followers to embrace the programme and permit their children to be vaccinated.
However, I do not see any reason for attaching any blame to those who rejected polio vaccination. This is because, in 1996, when families in Kano accused New York-based Pfizer of using experimented meningitis drugs, had any serious action been taken to deal with the company? The company eventually denied any wrong doing in a subsequent US federal law suit by 20 disabled Nigerians alleging to have taken part in the study.
Similarly, when the Muslim organization, under aegis of Jama'atu Nasrul Islam (JNI), sent a medical team to India, headed by Dr. Haruna Kaita, the result was that the vaccination contained "undeclared contaminants that can cause malfunctioning tests and cause infertility in women." The team also found "some toxic substance".
In consideration of these facts up till now people have the notion of the news making the round that polio vaccination contains properties that limit human procreation. In other word, it has anti-pregnancy agents and that really send a shock and fears in people.
Although some people in the North do accept the immunization exercise, but their acceptance is mostly based on the influence of either traditional, rural or religious leaders who reassured them of the safety of the medicament, though it appears that they only give them the benefit of doubt in reluctantly embracing the whole exercise.
Considering one thing with another, it is evident that for everyone to be prevailed upon and to be made to believe in polio campaign. Same attempt and care should be given to other common diseases that worry human lives. Against this background therefore, it behoves that government and the organization concerned have to puzzle over this issue with a view to getting people's mind to rest.
Ado Abubakar Musa, a student of Mass Communication, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
