When a team of vaccinators arrived in Obele, a border town between Nigeria and the Republic of Benin, to vaccinate children against circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV2), the community leader, Chief Babafemi Ogunmade, did not surprised.
“We are aware that some vaccinators were coming to vaccinate our children against polio and other diseases and we were waiting for them.
Other community leaders joined me in raising awareness about the importance of immunization. We appreciate the intensified engagement of the government and partners, including the WHO, as vaccination activities have reduced the number of complications and risks associated with measles and polio infections in our communities,” he said.
Obele is one of many towns located in three Local Government Areas (LGAs) (Imeko-Afon, Ipokia and Yewa North) of Ogun State (South-West Nigeria) bordering the Republic of Benin. The settlements are important cross-border transit points for social and commercial activities.
Across the border settlements, 4,670 eligible children were vaccinated during the Outbreak Response (OBR2) campaign in the three LGAs from May 14-17, 2022. Taking advantage of the campaign, vitamin A supplementation and vaccinations against the COVID-19 in settlements to eligible children and adults
Tracking the underserved population
To ensure that no child is left unprotected or suffers from all forms of poliovirus, WHO is supporting the Government of Nigeria to undertake an initiative to improve immunization activities in cross-border settlements and among underserved populations.
Reinforcing the importance of effective immunization activities in border settlements, the Executive Secretary of the Ogun State Primary Health Care Board, Dr. Elijah Ogunsola, said that vaccination in border communities is necessary due to their distance to the state capital and the population in transit.
He thanked the WHO for its support in ensuring that all eligible children living within the borders are vaccinated to prevent the importation of the virus into the country.
Reach the vulnerable
Meanwhile, in the state of Cross Rivers, located in the South-South region, WHO, in collaboration with the Cross River Primary Health Care Development Agency (CRPHCDA), carried out a vaccination campaign to cover children in neglected international border communities, refugee camps and host communities.
Six LGAs in Cross River State share a national border with Cameroon and a total of 4,888 children aged 0-59 months were vaccinated.
State Immunization Officer Joy Chabo said regular immunization activities are vital to prevent the importation of polio and vaccine-preventable diseases into the state.
“Due to the crisis in the south of Cameroon, including social and commercial activities, there is frequent transit of the population between the two countries.
To ensure that all vulnerable groups are covered, WHO supports the state to ensure that adequate vaccines are supplied to cover the target population, adequate mobilization in border settlements using the LGA SMOs, and effective training of teams on strategies vaccination in border settlements. , she said.
Similarly, in Rivers State, WHO worked closely with the state government and took advantage of the OBR campaign to provide other immunization services in nomadic settlements. Speaking about the intervention, Dr. Bose Ezekwe, the state coordinator, said targeting eligible children in the state’s nomadic herder settlements was vital as they live outside the reach of established health care facilities.
As a result, these groups are often underimmunized and beyond the reach of existing disease surveillance activities. WHO worked with the state government to train and deploy teams to high-risk areas.
Country Representative Dr. Walter Kazadi Mulombo highlighted the importance of quality outbreak response and surveillance of polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases in the country, saying,
Nigeria combs communities to protect eligible children against polio.
Nigeria and the African region were certified free of wild polio in August 2020, but maintaining the feat is threatened by the high caseload of cVPV2. In addition, Malawi and Mozambique reported cases of wild poliovirus (WPV1) this year that raised serious concerns about international importation.
Following promotion by regional directors, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) prioritized 10 non-endemic countries in Africa to sustain gains.
Support for polio eradication in Nigeria through WHO is made possible through funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and GPEI partners.