Banigo Seeks Sustained Surveillance Against Polio …Encourages Covid-19 Vaccination

Rivers State Deputy Governor, Dr. Ipalibo Harry Banigo, has expressed the need for sustained surveillance and monitoring to forestall reoccurrence of poliomyelitis.
Banigo stated this at the Third Quarterly Meeting of the Rivers State Task Force on Immunisation and Primary Health Care at the Government House in Port Harcourt, last Monday.
The deputy governor, who expressed delight with the nation’s polio-free status said, “The last time we talked about the circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus and what we are doing about it. We thank God that we have been declared polio-free in Africa, but there are still some countries that have polio.So, we do not need to rest on our oars, we do not need to let down our guard”.
Banigo described the State Chief Executive, Chief Nyesom Wike, as a very health-friendly governor who was desirous to build human capital and see how the state’s health indices would continue to improve.
According to the public health physician, who advocated for sustained COVID-19 vaccination, statistics have shown that the third wave of COVID-19 which was also the first wave to have vaccination was declining all over Africa.
“Despite all the conspiracy theories, we have noticed that vaccines actually work.So, we are going to make sure that we keep pushing up with our vaccination while at the same time, we will keep up all the entire COVID-19 responses”, she further stressed.
Banigo, who said the outbreak of cholera, which occurred within the last quarter, had also declined encouraged partners, the Ministry of Water Resources and the local government authorities to ensure that good water was available to communities.
She stressed that availability of good water and improved sanitation were key in the quest to nip cholera in the bud.