WHO confirms 51 cases of new polio variant in Nigeria

The Circulating Variant Polio Virus (cVPV2) has been found in 51 new cases in Nigeria, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday.

The cases were discovered between January and August 13 of this year, according to Dr. Walter Mulombo, WHO Country Representative in Nigeria, who made the announcement at a strategic meeting in Kaduna State.

The meeting was organized by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) in collaboration with the Sultan Foundation for traditional leaders of inaccessible communities in the North-West.

North-West, according to Mulombo, accounted for 92 percent of the new cases.

The WHO official revealed that 47 of the cases were recorded in 15 local government areas in the region that has been under attacks from bandits since 2019.

He bemoaned how the North-West suffers from a high rate of maternal and newborn mortality due to the consequences of instability on access to health care.

Mulombo said: “A majority of the outbreaks were from states facing security challenges in the region, causing setbacks to the country’s attainment of universal health coverage.

“The protracted security challenges in the North-West zone, exacerbated by bandits and kidnappers, have led to the breakdown of a health system already experiencing years of neglect and underfunding, affecting the effective delivery of health services, including routine immunization for children.”

The United Nations health agency certified Nigeria wild polio-free in August 2020.