Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kano (Agenzia Fides) – In 2003, the Muslim imams of northern Nigeria boycotted the vaccines against poliomyelitis, claiming that it was a plot of the Western world to sterilize the Muslim people or infect them with the HIV virus. The following year, there was a doubling of the number of paralyzed children and the fear that the disease would spread to neighboring countries.
In 2008, the numbers tripled and the anti-polio campaign in the most populous African nation was reinforced. This time, the religious leaders of the Muslims supported it, joining the community leaders, health care workers, and victims in facing the epidemic.
In the dust-filled streets of Kano, the main city in northern Nigeria, volunteers with megaphones invite parents to bring their children to one of the 100 centers for vaccinations. The radio and newspapers also make ads promoting the vaccine.
In support of the people affected by polio in the country, there is the Trust Association for Polio Victims in Kano, which began working with just 8 members and eight years later, has 2,350. To help the patients, the the organization prepares plastic chairs on bicycle wheels that can be controlled with petals by hand. Once they receive their chair, they can use it to go to the clinic or to school. This campaign seems to have success, although the number of children effected each year are 788. During the first semester of 2008, the World Health Organization saw an increase in 26% of the number of people vaccinated in the state of Kano, in comparison to the same time period in 2007. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 19/05/2009)
