Dr Clement Adams is the Officer-in-Charge/UNICEF Chief of Maiduguri Field Office, Borno State. In this interview with FRED EZEH, he highlights the importance of sanitation to the containment of diseases.
What is going on with the battle against polio?
We have made significant progress in the fight against polio and other related diseases. For instance, Nigeria has succeeded in eradicating the Wild Polio Virus. But we currently have Vaccine-Derived Polio viruses, which are circulating across some states in Nigeria, and government is aware. I can confirm to you that there are cases of poliovirus but they are not Wild Polio Virus which are more deadly. But that has been eradicated and the World Health Organization (WHO) certified Nigeria polio free last year.
How dangerous is the Vaccine-Derived Polio viruses?
Wild Polio Virus is more dangerous and deadly than the vaccine derived polio. It spreads faster and can’t be contained easily, as against the vaccine-derived poliovirus that is a weakened virus and can be contained easily, and it is being contained. Remember that the whole immunisation programme is not optimum. We have not reached the point of everybody being immunized, and again we are going around doing open defecation everywhere. The sub optimal behaviours are so high and the immunisation level has not reached very high level. So, we also need the media to advocate to the people to ensure immunisation. Unless we reach very high level of immunisation where we would have vaccinated the whole community, we would not be able to stop a lot of these things that are happening.
How many states are currently battling with this vaccine-induced polio?
Our records indicated that seven states, at the moment, are currently battling with the vaccine induced polio. And this was recorded in this year alone. The states are not located in a particular region. They are spread across the country.
Indeed, WHO certified the country polio-free, but that certification was for Wild Polio Virus. There are different types of poliovirus. The one Nigeria got certification for was the Wild Polio Virus which is very dangerous. The difference between the two viruses is that the Wild Polio Virus is not an easily containable virus, but this other one is arising from deficiencies that have ensured that it happened. We can control these deficiencies but we cannot control that of the wild one. What we achieved last year was the successful eradication of the Wild Polio Virus which is more deadly.
What are the possibilities of detecting the wild poliovirus as a result of last year’s lockdown?
It is not about the lockdown per say, but the perception people were having that when you go to the health facilities, they might get infected with COVID-19. So, there were lots of people not going to the hospital out of the fear of COVID-19. So, it ensured that services went down and of course, it affected everything, including immunisation services. However, it is important to note that even without COVID-19, immunisation coverage is still very low because of vaccine hesitancy. A lot of people still have this notion about vaccines, particularly COVID-19 vaccine, and that is why we still need the support of the media to ensure people take vaccine. Vaccine is safe, it has protected a lot of people.
Have you raised the alarm about the spread of this new polio to possibly get the attention of government?
Government is aware that the virus is spreading, and we are doing a lot of awareness to contain the situation, and our efforts have been successful. We have always had vaccine-induced polio in the whole country. All states have been reporting cases. So, it is not true that it is getting worst. It’s rather getting better. We have just shifted our attention to make sure that the current ones that we are seeing should be eradicated. But it’s very necessary to draw the importance sanitation plays in eradicating diseases.
What’s the nexus between sanitation and polio?
The thing about polio is that it’s caused when somebody must have eaten something that might have been contaminated by the virus. It’s gotten either through the food, water or that your hands were dirty and you put it inside your mouth. That is why you need to look at it that it’s not just about only water but children going out to play and getting their hands dirty with all manner of dirty things, and that is why it’s important that people quit defecating in the open. Open defecation is another way of spreading the disease. When we quit open defecation, the chances of not getting the virus becomes high. That’s why it’s important for us to talk about toilets so we could stop the spread.
What’s your assessment of government’s response to these issues?
The assessment of government is very high. However, it’s not just about government but all stakeholders. The government has the responsibility to provide the services. The media has to do their part by educating the population. The communities have to do their part by accepting what we are talking about and do what we are saying. The community must do their part by ensuring the people come out for the services, which the government has sent to them. So it’s about all stakeholders doing their best. My part is to help the government, the government’s part is to ensure the provision of services, your part is to help educate the population, the population’s part is to accept the services. So, only one stakeholder cannot solve it all and only one stakeholder does not have the finances or capacity to solve the problem. We all need to work together and that is the only way we can solve the problem by bringing everybody on board; the government, parents, guardians, schools, communities, humanitarian organisation and civil society organisations. It’s also important for the media to speak to the issues and enlighten the people.
What’s your take on increasing interest of Nigerians on open defecation?
Few days ago, we celebrated the World Toilet Day. It is a day set aside to highlight the importance of toilets in our lives. Toilets, unarguably, are an important part of our homes. Toilets ensure we are able to contain faeces, which, hitherto, will spread a lot of diseases that we can, ordinarily contain. Having a toilet, you are able to prevent your children, yourself and community from getting a lot of diseases which you end up spending a lot of money on. But if you have toilets, your family and community at large would all be healthy and grow well and healthy, so we would have more prosperous community and nation.
Undoubtedly, toilet plays a very important role in ensuring we prevent a lot of disease and that we ensure that there is a dignity in the way we all live. Defecating in the open is not good for us; it still ends up affecting the whole community. At UNICEF, we support states and their plans to achieve the dream of eliminating open defecation, which is a threat to our collective and total well-being.