As part of activities to mark this year’s World Polio Day, Rotary Clubs in Port Harcourt embarked on a 10km walk to create awareness on keeping polio at zero level.
The walk also marks the second year of Nigeria’s certification of no Polio cases in the country.
Speaking to The Tide during the walk, the District Polio Chairman, Rotary International District 9141, Rotarian Dan Harrison, said, the walk was to sensitise the populace and sustain the surveillance.
According to him, “We are reaching out through this kind of road walks to sensitise the populace and to put a surveillance so that this deadly disease called polio does not take us unawares again”
On his part, the Rivers Polio Chair, Rotarian Erondu Chinyere, commended Rotarians for their sustained fight to eradicate the polio virus from the world
Erondu felicitated with all the Rotarians in the State and all friends of the Rotary for the certification of Nigeria as a polio free nation and called for all hands to be on deck to keep polio at zero in Africa.
He noted, “Last year, Nigeria was issued a polio-free certificate and we want the country to remain free of polio and the only way we can sustain it is sensitisation and advocacy which is what we are doing with this walk” and called for donations from well meaning individuals and corporate bodies and continous immunisation of under five children.
Also speaking, the Coordinator, All Rivers Polio Walk, Rotarian Sofiri Dappa, observed that, “52 Rotary Clubs coming together to have a walk in Rivers State to sensitise Rivers people that polio shouldn’t reoccur and should be kept at zero is huge”.
Dappa stated that since 1984, Rotary had been in the forefront at eradicating polio globally.
He thanked the state government, which through the State Primary Health Care Management Board, all friends of Rotary and Rotarians have made the fight against polio a success.
Rotary clubs in the State had in the week leading up to the World Polio Day and after, carried out various programmes to create awareness for the eradication of polio.
The walk which is part of activities to mark this year’s World Polio Day, celebrated, every October 24th was also used by Rotary Clubs to engage in various activities for polio world eradication through mass vaccination of children and have distributed countless volunteer hours to immunise children in various parts of the state.
Rotary also used the rally to sensitise market women on the need to take their children to the nearest primary health care centre for polio vaccination.
The 10km work commenced at Yakubu Gowon Stadium through Aba Road, Rumukalagbor and terminated at Mummy B junction, Stadium Road.

By: Tonye Nria-Dappa/Theresa Frederick