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https://reasonstobecheerful.world/traditional-chiefs-eradicate-polio-nigeria-cross-river/>
"In the wee hours of April 11, the booming voice of Fidelis Okapantum conquered
the stillness in the town of Ugep, a town in Nigeria’s Cross River state.
Clanging his gong and shouting in the local language of Lokaa, the community’s
town crier relayed a message from Ugep’s monarch: Cross River had received
polio vaccines, and he expected his community to use them.
“Good morning everyone!” bellowed Okapantum as he roamed the quiet streets.
“The Obol Lopon has asked that every mother with a child from zero to 59 months
old bring the child to the health center for polio vaccination. If you can’t
come, open your doors for the health workers who will come knocking.” As the
day rolled on, crowds of mostly nursing mothers gathered at Opol’s Palace to
get vaccinated, and hundreds more turned up later at Ugep’s local clinic to
have their children inoculated against type-2 polio virus.
According to Gloria Obla, a petty trader in Ugep’s market, Fidelis’ voice and
the sound of his gong signaled reassurance: their trusted local leader was
behind the vaccines.
“This is shown in the fact that the community trusts the vaccination,” she
adds, “and mothers will be bringing out their children to be vaccinated.”
This vaccination strategy, which leverages community trust in local leadership,
is why today Cross River is one of the few Nigerian states that is polio free.
In 2020, Nigeria was declared the last African country to eradicate the
disease. Two years later, however, the virus is rearing its ugly head again.
Cases have been confirmed in 29 out of 36 states, plus the Federal Capital
Territory, in Africa’s most populous nation.
But not in Cross River, where traditional leaders like the Obol Lopon have been
enlisted to take the lead against the spread of polio within their communities.
In these places, immunization targets have been met, and populations remain
polio-free, according to Dr. Janet Ekpenyong, director general of the Cross
River State Primary Health Care Development Agency, the agency coordinating the
vaccination exercise."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
