No fewer than Five Thousand infants and children in Imo State have received free vaccine against poliomyelitis courtesy of the Rotary Club of Nigeria, Owerri District.
The gesture, the Guardian gathered, was in commemoration of the 2023 World Polio Day and the determined effort of Rotary Club to help eradicate the disease in the state and beyond.
Speaking to newsmen at Owerri Municipal Council, one of the venues for the vaccination, the District 9142 Polio Plus Chair, Dr. Sabastain Okwu and representative of Rotary Family Health Days, Dr. Chika Ogubuire stressed on the need for continuous sensitization about the disease as a means to completely eradicate it from the world.
They reiterated that, “the Rotary Club International, in partnership with United Nation is committed to protecting every child against the disease and will continue to intensify effort towards achieving a Polio free society.
Dr. Okwu said, “you will recall that from 1988, over 250 countries were endemic for poliomyelitis and every year, 350, 000 children are paralysed. So a bold step has to be taken.
“Since Polio is not curable but it is entirely preventable, there has to be a programme or project to immunise children and protect them against the disease. And that is what we, the Rotracts have been doing.
He continued, “You can see that from that time (1988) till now, we have reduced the incident of poliomyelitis to just two countries and those countries are Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“You may want to ask, if the disease is now in these two countries, why are we talking about it in Nigeria? It is because Polio is a communicable disease and fro what we know epidemiological, if there is any area in the world that is breeding Polio, it means that every area in the world is at risk.
“So if there is any child any where that is at risk of Polio, it means that evert child, particularly those who are under five years are at risk of poliomyelitis. So we are calling attention to effort we are doing to get children immune to Polio and as well get the disease eradicated in the world.”
Okwu also applauded nursing mothers, caregivers and the government for their corporation and support which according to him have helped to combating the disease in the state and across the country.
“In Imo State, the acceptance of immunisation of any type is high and I commend our people for taht. So, today, I want to appreciate our caregivers for their faith in immunisation. I want to encourage them to continue to accept immunisation. Immunisation is the right of every child and more so, immunisation is free.
“I also want to thank the government because they have put in alot of effort to ensure that immunisation reaches every nook and crannies of the state. So we commend the government because they are partners to what we are doing I ask them to continue with what they are doing.” he added.
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