NIGERIA CONCLUDES FIVE DAYS OF POLIO IMMUNIZATIONS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001892 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV EAID SOCI NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA CONCLUDES FIVE DAYS OF POLIO IMMUNIZATIONS REF: ABUJA 1252 ¶1. Summary. As of July 14, Nigeria had 542 cases of wild poliovirus in 15 states, compared to 302 cases in 18 states for the same period in 2005. Nigeria accounted for 82% of the world's wild poliovirus cases and for 95% of the cases in Africa. While polio has been concentrated in fewer Nigerian states, the number of cases increased significantly - leaving uninfected states and the wider region at risk for re-infection. Nigeria carried out an Immunization-Plus campaign in 11 northern states on June 29 to July 3. The Expert Review Committee on Immunization said Nigeria's National Program on Immunization had improved substantially following the installation of new leadership in January ¶2006. End summary. ¶2. As of July 14, 2006, Nigeria had 542 cases of wild poliovirus in 15 states, compared to 302 cases in 18 states for the same period in 2005. As of July 14, Nigeria accounted for 82% of the world's wild poliovirus cases and for 95% of the cases in Africa. While polio has been concentrated in fewer Nigerian states, the number of cases increased significantly - leaving uninfected states and the wider region at risk for re-infection. The main reason for polio's spread within the high-risk states remained the low immunization rate of children in northern Nigeria - significant numbers of whom have never received a single dose of polio vaccine. The 11 northern high-risk states are those in which more than 10% of children were missed by vaccinators or received no dose of polio vaccine. These states are Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Yobe, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara. Immunization-Plus Campaign Termed a Success -------------- ¶3. Nigeria's National Program on Immunization (NPI) carried out Immunization-Plus Days (IPDs) in the country's 11 high- risk states on May 25-29 and on June 29-July 3. In the second IPD campaign, the NPI, in cooperation with the UN health agencies, USAID, Rotary and other partners, administered polio drops to under-five children and vaccines against measles, diphtheria, tetanus, and the whooping cough at fixed points and at homes. On July 2, health workers started a house-to-house immunization program to attempt to reach all children under-five in the 11 northern states, estimated at about 10 million children ¶4. Nigerian health officials termed the June 29-July 3 campaign a success. The NPI's Kano State zonal coordinator said the house-to-house component "compensated for the low turnout" at fixed vaccination sites. Kano State's health commissioner said the campaign achieved "substantial success" but cautioned that some parents, especially in Kano city, did not bring their children to be vaccinated. He termed it "particularly worrisome" that people in Kano city's Dala area, which has about 3 million inhabitants, "did not show any interest" in the campaign and demonstrated "a lot of rejection." Expert Review Committee's Assessment Is Positive -------------- --- ¶5. Nigeria's Expert Review Committee (ERC) on Immunization, composed of Nigerian and international health experts, held its 10th meeting on July 13-14, in Kano. This was the first time the group met outside of Abuja. It also was the first time the 11 high-risk states' health commissioners made presentations on the IPD program directly to the ERC and discussed the ERC's recommendations for Nigeria. The ERC adopted the IPD approach at its last meeting, in March 2006. ¶6. The ERC assessed that the NPI has made "significant progress" in fully consulting and engaging the high-risk states in dialogue, planning, and implementation. The 11 states' governors seemed to be more involved, as evinced by these officials' increased spending on immunization - although the governors' level of engagement varied. The relationship between the GON and international donors had improved under the NPI's new leadership, in place since January 2006. Overall, Nigeria's immunization efforts had improved "radically" compared to those under the NPI's former leadership. Observations on Immunization-Plus Days -------------- ¶7. The ERC had observed much higher engagement and "ownership" by the states and local government areas in immunization efforts. Traditional leaders at the highest levels were being targeted to increase their involvement, but this had not yet translated into real action. Although social mobilization had improved and communities were more ABUJA 00001892 002 OF 002 involved through community dialogue, much more needed to be done in a uniform and systematic way. Also, additional child-survival efforts such as insecticide-treated mosquito netting and de-worming drugs were ad hoc in nature and left too much to the states to decide. ¶8. Anecdotal evidence suggested that citizens' noncompliance with and rejection of polio immunizations might be decreasing. This was difficult to ascertain because actual data either was not available or was largely unreliable. The data obtained through the IPDs, which was better monitored and permitted less opportunity for falsification, was likely more reliable than that collected through the National Immunization Day house-to-house strategy. Although fewer children apparently were immunized against polio in the IPD program, this might mean only that more-reliable data was being collected. While many significant improvements had been achieved, the ERC cautioned that progress must be measured by an actual reduction in the number of polio cases. Expert Review Committee's Recommendations -------------- ¶9. The ERC recommended: All supplemental immunization activities in the high-risk states should follow the IPD approach, consisting of a combination of fixed-site and house-to-house vaccinations; other vaccines, including diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, and measles, should be made available at fixed sites; additional care such as vitamin A and anti-worm treatments should be given at appropriate intervals, and yellow fever and cerebrospinal meningitis vaccines could be administered when necessary. ¶10. The September IPD round will be carried out in 11 to 19 states, and cerebrospinal meningitis inoculations will be administered if the vaccine is available; the October measles and oral-polio vaccine round will be held in 17 states in Nigeria's southern zones; the November IPD round will be carried out in selected high-risk areas; and in December, a full national immunization round will be carried out, as well as the IPD approach in the 11 high-risk states. The ERC suggested that the NPI carry out two full national rounds and one large-scale sub-national round; that the NPI continue the IPD approach in selected states; and that the NPI carry out the first round as early as possible in 2007. The ERC next will meet in November 2006. It will review the progress made, as well as adopt a strategy for 2007. ¶11. Embassy Abuja delivered to the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on June 16 the letter on polio in Nigeria from Secretary of State Rice to President Obasanjo. Embassy Abuja has not received a reply to this letter. FUREY