Amidst the depressing and
horrifying situation of this COVID havoc, there’s a ray of happiness that is
outshone on the saddened face of the world.
The news is from the world
health organization which in its latest reports joyously announced the
eradication of its longest-reigning sickness that is the crooked polio virus.
WHO considers this as a
milestone in African history and praised the governments and late Nelson
Mandela’s effective measures that helped them to tackle the problem which
paralyzed its 75000 children and forced them to live a life of pain and agony.
The Polio virus stands second in
the list of achievements for Africa after the smallpox challenge that it
achieved 40 years ago.
How the Story Rolled In
The year 1996 when Africa lost
its 75000 children’s physical ability to the hands of polio, it's then-leader
Mr. Nelson Mandela started a movement named ‘kick polio out of Africa’ which
was a unique cross-continental and cross sectored effort to protect the children
from the hanging sword of paralysis.
Pincers That Showed up
There’s not a story that didn’t
have challenges to tell. After the release of the campaign, the next big
challenge was to bring this vision into reality.
The very first challenge was to
deliver the newly discovered vaccine to the newborns, which itself was like
boiling an ocean down.
Covering the scattered
population divided into tribes and villages was no less than a nightmare to the
African health workers.
Some of the African health workers
confessed they sometimes felt that their body will no longer be able to keep it
up, but it was their sheer determination that really helped them to come out of
those barbaric conditions.
The Vicious Cycle
Little the government know the
problem they were addressing was like the tip of the iceberg.
Once the first challenge was
over another problem that arises was the rumors that were prevailing with the
vaccine.
The rumors were that AIDS
disease was one of the communicative diseases that spread with the vaccine.
At first, the problem may not
seem very alarming but later with time government understood the fact that the
fear that was buried in the parent’s heart may result in the avoidance of
vaccines to their offspring.
the then African government
rolled in various educational campaigns to educate people and to make them
understand the necessity of the vaccine.
But the Hard Part Was Not Over
There was a reason I called
that polio virus was like a tip of the iceberg, and I am going to justify it at
this point.
The vaccine that was earlier
introduced later discovered the presence of live polio virus strain which may
act as a potent cause for the virus.
But again by the use of modern
technologies, a new and rectified version with a strain of dead polio virus was
introduced.
With this better version,
earlier speculations were ruled out.
Violence Story
Now Africa's story is not
limited to the rumors resulting in the avoidance of vaccines but the result
included bloodshed.
Outside Nigeria, the conflict
with the Islamist group resulted in the complete separation of the Borno state
of Nigeria from the outer world and particularly from the vaccine.
Muslim religious leaders
suspended the immunization practice stating the fact that it was a scheme
through which the vaccine was contaminated to make Muslim women infertile and
named it as an American scheme.
In the year 2013, although the campaign
resumed the same year in Borno state the Boko haram carried out a dreadful
shooting which resulted in the death of 9 people giving the vaccine.
Happy Ending
Now on 25th august 2020, The
independent Africa Regional Certification Commission (ARCC) for Polio
Eradication officially declared that the 47 countries in the UN World Health
Organization (WHO) African Region are free of the virus, with no cases reported
for four years.
“This is a momentous milestone
for Africa. Now future generations of African children can live free of wild
polio,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.
WHO officials said that this
eradication achievement can have many other positive effects in the country.
Who’s African coordinator for
the polio eradication program said that despite facing challenges like
logistical inability, operational challenges, and weak medical system,
countries collaborated effectively to achieve this milestone.
“With the innovations and
expertise that the polio program has established, I am confident that we can
sustain the gains, post-certification, and eliminate cVDPV2,” he said
Here cVDPV2 is referred to as
vaccine-derived polio which poses a potent threat to Africa’s eradication
program.
But on the bright side experts
suggested that Africa now can tackle the newly emerged COVID virus with
expertise thanks to the effort that was shown during the emergency time.
This milestone shows that no
matter how long may the night been the sun of hope will rise up.
Written by - Yash Bundela
Edited by – Adrija Saha
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