Polio victims rally in support of vaccination

Hundreds of people disabled by polio took to the streets of the northern Nigerian city of Kano, some in wheelchairs some perched on wooden boards with wheels, to warn parents of the danger of failing to vaccinate children.

The Wednesday rally was organised by members of the Kano State Polio Victims Trust Association, as part of an awareness campaign ahead of a nationwide immunisation drive scheduled to begin on Saturday.

“We, as victims of this preventable disease, have taken it upon ourselves to help enlighten the people of Kano that polio is a preventable disease which has no cure,” said the chairman of the association, Malam Aminu Ahmed.

Once contracted, there is no treatment against the highly infectious virus, which can kill and typically leaves survivors crippled. However, a single vaccination during childhood can provide lifetime protection.

Meanwhile, the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, expressed his support for the polio vaccination programme, in what was a crucial u-turn for religious leaders since late 2003.

At the time, Kano State temporarily banned polio immunisations after allegations by influential Islamic religious leaders that the vaccinations were part of a western conspiracy to render Muslims infertile.

The 10-month ban, during which authorities tested the vaccine, led to a sharp rise in polio cases in northern Nigeria, which were then exported to other West African countries.

The spike in cases was one of the main reasons for the failure of a World Health Organisation global campaign to eradicate polio by 2005. WHO now aims to eradicate polio by 2008.

Nigeria remains one of only six countries worldwide where polio remains endemic.

Kano State governor Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, who met the protesters disabled by polio, said the ban on polio vaccination that was in place until mid-2004, had enabled the authorities to remove any lingering fears into the negative effects of the vaccine.

"Our decision to suspend the exercise last year was in the interest of all the parties concerned,” he said. “Islam makes it mandatory for leaders to ensure that harm does not come to citizens. We had to carry out the test to allow for proper investigations, which were carried out.”

“Today we are happy that the results have declared that the vaccine is not harmful,” he went on. “I appeal to the people of Kano to bring out their children and participate in the polio vaccination exercise."

Polio has been stopped in 10 West and Central African countries, where no cases of the virus have been reported since June, according to WHO.

These are: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Mali and Togo.