Gov. Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State on Saturday launched the first “Mop-Up’’ polio eradication campaign in the state, pledging to assist other states in efforts to eradicate polio.
Fashola made the promise at the onset of four-day polio eradication campaign at Apapa-Iganmu Local Council Development Area (LCDA) in Lagos.
He said that the state government embarked upon the campaign following the alert it received on the possibilities of an outbreak of poliomyelitis in the state.
Fashola said that the state government received an alert few days ago that there was a possible outbreak of polio in the Apapa-Iganmu LCDA due to the indiscriminate defecation by the residents.
He said that the campaign, which involved a door-to-door immunisation strategy, being carried out in specific focal areas where the virus was known or suspected to be circulating.
The governor, however, warned the residents to desist from indiscriminate defecation, saying: “The men of `Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) Brigade’ would be strengthened to arrest those who are defecating on the streets.”
Fashola said that indiscriminate defecation was one of the major factors responsible for Nigeria’s inclusion in the list of countries still affected by polio.
“Nigeria has no reason to be among the countries still battling with the eradication of polio in the world.
“However, due to this act of indiscriminate defecation, we are still locked in that league,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that residents turned out en-masse for the programme and presented their children for polio immunisation.
The programme also attracted officials of World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF, as well as community leaders and top state government functionaries.
NAN recalls that Dr Ray Nihar, an official of the World Health Organisation (WHO), on Thursday said in Kaduna that Nigerians travelling abroad would be compelled to take the oral polio vaccine by May 2013.
Nihar said that WHO would issue a standing recommendation to that effect all nations under the International Health Regulations.
He said that children and adults travelling out of Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan must be vaccinated against polio “to reduce the substantial risk of the virus spreading to polio-free countries”.