The United Nation Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has said the news that two children have been paralysed by wild poliovirus in northeastern Nigeria, underscores the urgency of eradicating the disease in conflict-affected areas.
The humanitarian organisation said the Federal Government and the World Health Organization have confirmed an outbreak of wild poliovirus in conflict-ridden Borno State, where children are already facing dangerous high level of malnutrition.
A press statement by the UNICEF Chief Communicator, Doune Porter, said the two cases discovered has been in parts recently assessible in Borno, adding that large areas of the state remain unreachable.
She noted that Nigeria and the continent had its last confirmed polio case two years ago and was within a year of being certified polio-free before the recent development.
Doune said: “We cannot deny the connection between conflict and the continued threat of polio. The two new cases mean children across the Lake Chad region are now at particular risk. With our partners, we will not stop until we reach every child with polio vaccination. The Federal Ministry of Health of Nigeria, supported by WHO, UNICEF and partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, are rolling out an emergency immunization campaign, starting in the accessible parts of Borno State.