Rotary, partners step up education as world marks Polio Day

Rotary International and its partners are close to making the eradication of polio a reality as they engage in more education and vaccination this week to mark World Polio Day on Tuesday, October 24, 2017.

Despite Ghana being declared polio-free, there is risk of the disease being contracted from other countries. Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan still remain endemic to the disease that mostly affect children under five and renders such paralysed.

Many people who are infected with the poliovirus do not become sick and have no symptoms. However, those who do become ill develop paralysis, which can sometimes be fatal. People may experience whole body fatigue, feeling faint, fever, or wasting away.

There may also be muscle weakness, loss of muscle, or muscle quiver, headache, nausea, or slow growth. In Ghana, the Rotary International, together with some of its partners at the week-end went through a walk in the regional capitals, and carried out immunization against the disease as part of efforts to sensitise people against the disease.

In Accra, the Rotary International (RI) Ghana and some of its partners One Million Community Health Workers (1CHWs), Campaign of Millennium Promise Alliance (MPA), the Ghana Health Service (GHS), and Youth Employment Agency (YEA) on Saturday, went through some of the principal streets of Osu-Accra, and finally converged at the Mandela Park to an outreach and immunization against the disease.

Wearing red tee-shirts, with jeans, stretches and shoes to match, about 500 Rotarians, accompanied by brass band music, were led by the Ghana National PolioPlus Committee (GNPPC) for a trek from Kingdom Bookshop, through the Longor Street, the Oxford Street made a u-turn at the Danquah Circle and finally to the Mandela Park.

As the music blared, the marchers flaunted placards some of which read “End Polio Now”, “ I want to Kill Polio”, “I want to Stop Polio, Join Me Now” and We Owe Our Children a Polio Free World.”

Speaking at the durbar, Mr John Eliaso Mahama, the Technical Advisor of Millennium Promise Alliance, an orgasniation engaged in health and agricultural education, said his outfit was more than prepared to deplore all the tools under its disposal including ICT to assist Rotary International in its fight against polio.

He noted that Ghana had not had any reported polio case in the last ten years, but he however promised that more would be done, using the availability of mobile phones to record registration, monitoring and evaluation of polio issues in all households.

According to him, although Ghana was already certified as Polio-Free, it still remained a risk. In fact, until poliovirus transmission was interrupted from the three remaining Polio remains endemic countries – Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan – all countries remained at risk of importation of polio,” he stated.

He said “with the eradication of polio now in sight, we need to ensure that we leave no stone unturned and leave no one behind. This calls for us to deploy our best assets and capabilities to sustain the necessary response”.

He named the “assets and capabilities” to include ICT based solutions for rapid and targeted response and follow-up; frontline health workers for comprehensive primary health care services; and community efforts for sustaining local response.

Ms. Theresa Osei Tutu, Chairperson of the Ghana National PolioPlus Committee, said since Rotary first over-met its funding pledge for polio eradication in 1985, it had consistently fuelled the efforts with resources, advocacy and hard work on the ground.

Rotary's advocacy efforts with both endemic and donor country governments, have been maintained over the past 30 years and polio had been brought to the brink of eradication.

She said the campaign to eradicate polio from the world has been 99.9 per cent successful, calling on all to join hands to fight against the 0.1per cent. “So long as one child is at risk, everyone is at risk,” Ms Osei Tutu said.

Dr. Anthony Nsiah Asare, Director General of the Ghana Health Service, who was deputized for by Dr. David Opare, also of the Service and a Public Health Specialist said since 2008, Ghana had not recorded a single case of polio.

He advised all mothers with children under five to ensure that all their children were immunized against polio. The worldwide fight against polio started decades ago with Rotary International (RI) at the forefront.

The Director General of the Ghana Health Service commended the organizers of the event for their contributions towards improving maternal and child health in Ghana and the sub-region.

“We wish to thank you sincerely, the Rotary International (especially Ghana Polio-plus committee), all polio-plus partners and Millennium Promise for the efforts that have brought us this far in respect of improving the health of the people and making this happen,” he stated.

“More than 16 million people are walking today who otherwise would have been paralyzed by the dreadful disease poliomyelitis.

“Additionally, an estimated 1.5 million childhood deaths have been prevented through the systematic administration of vitamin A during polio immunization activities. The World stands on brink of a historic global public health success. We cannot afford to backslide,” he said.

He said despite the progress made so far in Ghana, much still remains to be done. “We must all work harder to ensure that successive cohorts of children born receive all the vaccines that they need in a timely manner.

“There are still many unimmunized children especially in the urban, peri-urban and other geographic inaccessible communities.

“These children, if not reached, are prone to infection and could be sources of re-emergence of eliminated and diseases nearly eradicated,” the DG of GHS added.

Over 20 Community Health Workers (CHWs) were also deplored from house-to-house where children under five were immunised against polio. There was free testing for HIV, Body Mass Index (BMI) assessment, blood pressure measurement, health education and counselling.