Yes OO... My Babe must see this.. She so loves her skin ( not that its bad)... Nice....

For just more than two years, Nigerian health officials have been celebrating a country free of the paralyzing effects of the poliovirus.

But last week, celebrations were put on hold

with the announcement of two new cases of polio in Nigeria — and the likelihood of more being unearthed. The World Health Organization reported Thursday Two children were diagnosed this week with paralysis due to wild poliovirus, in a part of Borno state which has been out of reach for the medical teams carrying out immunisations because of attacks by the militant group Boko Haram [1].

This OUTBREAK of polio has struck parts of Nigeria that are largely inaccessible to the outside world because of fighting between Islamist militants and the military, where thousands of children are already suffering from severe malnutrition.

An emergency vaccination programme had been launched immediately by the UNICEF, to reach about one million children under five years of age in Borno state.

As an immediate priority, the Government of Nigeria is collaborating with WHO and other partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative to respond urgently and prevent more children from being paralyzed. These steps include conducting large-scale immunization campaigns and strengthening surveillance systems that help catch the virus early. These activities are also being strengthened in neighboring countries.

“We are deeply saddened by the news that 2 Nigerian children have been paralyzed by polio. The Government has made significant strides to stop this paralyzing disease in recent years. The overriding priority now is to rapidly immunize all children around the affected area and ensure that no other children succumb to this terrible disease”, said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.

As recently as 2012, Nigeria accounted for more than half of all polio cases worldwide, but the country has made significant strides, recently marking 2 years without a case on 24 July 2016.

The UN agency has warned that 244,000 children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition this year in Borno state alone, and if they are not reached with treatment soon, one in five of them will die.

The charity Médicins San Frontières (MSF) described the humanitarian situation in Borno state as “catastrophic”.

A spokeswoman said: “When our teams visited Banki recently to provide medical assistance and deliver food, they found a terrible health situation, marked by high rates of severe acute malnutrition. Some patients needed to be referred to neighbouring Cameroon due to the severity of their condition.

“The situation in Borno is critical, with people critically lacking access to food, water, and adequate healthcare.”

Banki, a border-town near Cameroon, is currently accessible only with a military escort. It was recaptured from Boko Haram last year.

The 2 cases in Nigeria particularly highlight the need to prioritize immunization of children in hard-to-reach areas such as the Lake Chad region, which spans several countries and is often affected by conflict and large population movements. Reaching these children requires vaccinating populations as they move in and out of inaccessible areas and using local-level groups and organizations, such as religious institutions and community based organizations, to negotiate access for vaccination teams.

Two million people have been displaced during years of brutal attacks by Boko Haram in the region, covering Nigeria, Chad, Niger, and Cameroon. Many of them are now living in temporary camps.



This is truly SAD.

Source: DoctorsOfficeNg [https://www.doctorsoffice.ng/2016/08/new-polio-cases-but-we-were-so-close-to-eradicate-polio-what-went-wrong/]