By Winnie Onu, Makurdi
The Benue State Government has intensified surveillance and response activities following the detection of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus in an environmental sample collected from Wadata in Makurdi Local Government Area.
The State Ministry of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with the State Primary Health Care Board, Emergency Operations Centre and World Health Organisation (WHO), immediately commenced response measures, including active case searches in health facilities and communities to detect any possible transmission.
As part of efforts to strengthen the response, a team from the National Emergency Operations Centre Task Force on Polio Eradication visited the state and paid a courtesy and advocacy visit to the Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Paul Ejeh Ogwuche.
Receiving the delegation, Ogwuche reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to working with the Federal Government and development partners to protect children against polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
The commissioner pledged the ministry’s support for the response, particularly in advocacy, social mobilisation, community engagement and other measures required to contain the situation.
He said the collaboration was in line with Governor Hyacinth Alia’s commitment to ensuring that children in the state grow up healthy and have access to quality healthcare.
Ogwuche called for sustained collaboration among government agencies, development partners, health workers and communities, stressing that protecting children remained a collective responsibility.
Speaking during the visit, the Senior Epidemiologist of the National Emergency Operations Centre Task Force, Dr Hadley Ikove, commended the state response team for its coordination and early action.
Ikove said because the virus was detected in an environmental sample, additional resources would be required to strengthen surveillance and prevent possible transmission.
He disclosed that the national programme would support the state with vaccines and additional funding for vaccination teams, while appealing to the state government to provide counterpart support for community mobilisation, advocacy and deployment of additional personnel.
The WHO State Coordinator, Dr Abdulkarim Mohammed, also commended the collaboration between the national and state governments and development partners, assuring that the organisation remained committed to early detection, rapid response and sustained vaccination to prevent poliovirus transmission.
The Director of Public Health in the ministry, Dr Joshua Agbadu, thanked the national team for its intervention and called for sustained public information to keep communities adequately informed and engaged.
The ministry urged parents, caregivers and community leaders to cooperate with health workers during surveillance and vaccination activities and promptly report any child who develops sudden weakness or paralysis of the limbs.
