Korede Abdullah in Lagos
The Lagos State Government has announced plans to conduct a Polio Outbreak Response (OBR) exercise in all 20 Local Governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) from January 18 to 22, 2025.
According to Dr. Abimbola Bowale, Supervising Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Primary Health Care Board on Tuesday, the exercise aims to safeguard the success recorded in 2020 and maintain the country’s polio-free status.
“The Integrated Supplemental Immunization Activities (SIA) campaign was a landmark public health intervention that addressed gaps in immunization coverage and curbed the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases in Lagos State,” Dr. Bowale explained.
He noted that the campaign targeted measles, yellow fever, and Human Papilloma-virus (HPV), prioritizing high-risk populations and leveraging innovative strategies to maximize impact.
Dr. Bowale warned that the entire country is vulnerable to reinfection by the wild polio-virus, especially with recent outbreaks in Malawi and Mozambique. “If we become complacent, the entire country is vulnerable to reinfection by the wild polio-virus,” he said.
“Therefore, every state must maintain its zero WPV status and halt the transmission of circulating variant polio-virus type 2 (cVPV2) by conducting high-quality campaigns and improving routine immunization coverage.”, Dr Bowale added.
The Polio Outbreak Response campaign is expected to build on the success of the 2024 Measles and Yellow Fever Integrated vaccination campaign, which achieved significant milestones, including vaccinating 3,595,461 children against measles and 20,366,405 Lagosians against yellow fever.
