Abia Intensifies Campaign Against Polio

The Abia Government has launched a campaign to sustain the achievements recorded in the state in the eradication of polio.

The state recorded one case of polio in 10 years.

Gov.Theodore Orji said at a Polio Eradication Rally in Umuahia last Friday that the state had implemented a laudable project aimed at saving the lives of children under the age of five toward achieving the Millennium Developments Goals (MDGs).

He said it was regrettable that Nigeria was among four countries still living with the polio virus and urged care givers, parents and traditional rulers to ensure that every child under five years was immunised.

Mr Okechukwu Ogah, the Commissioner for Health, attributed the success recorded by the state to a high coverage of routine immunisation.

Dr Winifred Onuoha, a Representative of WHO at the rally, commended the efforts of the government toward achieving a polio free status in the state.

Onuoha stressed the need for more efforts toward the eradication of the virus, pointing out that 26 polio cases had been recorded in Nigeria in six states within the year as against five cases in 2010.