Nigeria postpones programme of polio immunisation
Nigeria has postponed its nationwide poliomyelitis immunisation programme for several months, after criticism by the country’s Muslim population of the safety of the vaccines being given to children. The move is ostensibly to allow time to resolve the controversy surrounding the immunisation exercise.
According to the press release signed by Wosilat Giwa, the director of communications and essential services of the national programme on immunisation, the exercise scheduled to have taken place from 22 to 25 May 2004, has been postponed until September 2004.
(BMJ 2004;328:1278 (29 May),
Education and strengthening of Public Health Systems are the only reliable vaccines.
It is extremely unfortunate that the religious fundamentalists can harm the humanity to any extent. History is full of such examples.
However I see to it from another angle. This is a reflection of global imbalance in terms of education, trusted and accessible health systems. It shows that isolated efforts like Polio Eradication can do very little unless the larger issues are addressed. Why is that the Muslims in USA, England, Malaysia or Kerala didn’t have any objection to polio immunization? Answer is so simple.
Education and Strengthening of Public Health Systems are the only reliablevaccines. They can fight not only against the Polio but also thousands of other diseases and misinformation campaigns against humanity.
Dr. Amod Kumar,
St. Stephen’s Hospital, Delhi
The name of the child is today!
Dear Amod Kumar,
Success comes from marrying feasibility to idealism. Idealist without action is sterile. Activist without idealism is toxic.
When you use the ex
The cost of the burden of disease, the misfortune of the ignorant, and the underprivileged, and the unlucky, is to be shared by all of us. We are not doing that. So the imperative of eradicating polio, and then measles and then making immunisation reach 100% and also simultaneously rebuilding Public Health — all these need to be done. Priority for what is feasible, what could be done now, and for what consensus and funds are available.
The ‘present’ should not face a choice between what is ideal but unlikely to happen, or happen quickly, and, what good we could do today, here and now. What the ‘present’ deserves is the latter plus beginning the process of the former. If the latter is deferred in lieu of the former, we continue to
commit children to torment. What our governments have neglected for decades is the good health effects of Education and Public Health. Design a way to address these, especially Public Health, since we are in that arena of karma and we will work together. Have you seen my recent write up on Public Health Priorities in the Hindu, May 25, page 8 (editorial page, middle article)? Please read and let me know how you want to go about the problem.
Dr. T Jacob John, Vellore (TN)
Vaccination is not the ONLY answer!
Dear Sir,
Thanks for raising voice for Public Health in a paper like Hindu. It should give some shakes to the government authorities. However, I still feel that the stakeholders in the profession have yet to assert for education and strong Public Health as precondition for health. I find it difficult to comprehend that if the authorities in the government could be persuaded for Polio Eradication or inclusion of Hepatitis Vaccine in the state’s immunization programme then why not for provision for safe water supply for all? The answer appears to me that most of the health professionals don’t consider safe water as area of their specialty. There is no technology, no innovation and so no excitement. If the professionals have to assert for such a basic thing after going through rigorous studies of medical school then who will get impressed?
Sir, if the government has failed in its duty then we as professionals can
not be absolved from our responsibility. Could we make our medical curriculum suitable for the needs of our country in last five decades? Could any government prevent us from doing so?
Sir, I had never underestimated the role and contribution of vaccines. However, I am concerned with the over dependence on vaccines. Most of the infectious diseases were brought into control just by education and lifestyle improvements in Europe and America. Vaccines do fail, either due
to poor seroconversion in host or mutation in the agent. So my statement ”education and strengthening of public health systems are the only reliable vaccines” is not dogmatic. However, deleting “only” can avoid controversy. In fact comparison of duo with vaccines is more of a jazzy assertion. I am also not fully convinced with the passion for eradication. We should strive for developing a system, which is capable of keeping the diseases under control and respond effectively to the new challenges. I may be totally wrong but eradication approach scares me. It will create a sense ofignorance for the disease in question, among the doctors and the community, in due course of time. The immunity in the community will disappear. A mutant of the disease agent would appear and produce mayhem. SARS is a very good warning sign from the nature. A new dreaded disease emerged and spread but fortunately in the countries which have strong and responsive health systems. So it could be controlled in time. Had it entered the countries like ours, it would have caused a disaster.
Sir, I very well understand that the child’s name is ‘today’. His/her need for today includes prevention from several water born diseases including polio. With every gone day he is loosing opportunity to be educated. Every lost opportunity for education today ensures that our coming generations will keep struggling with infectious and/or preventable morbidities.
I know it is very easy to write and mail such kind of observations sittingon a laptop. It is far more difficult to actually convince the government and get it implemented. I can imagine that for professionals of your disposition would be doing best for the humanity. Still I feel that we should keep raising our voice.
The polio eradication programme has made remarkable achievements. It hascrippled the polio disease to near eradication. It has also given us confidence that how the collaborative efforts by the government, community and the health agencies can be successful. If it can work for polio then it should work for larger issues as well.
I would finish with an improved statement. “The Education and Strengthening of Public Health Systems are the reliable vaccines and the medical community should prescribe it in bold letters to the government and the community.”