Polio: Is Someone's Picture on My Passport?

By

Ahmed Gana

amgana3@yahoo.com

The Kano state governor has directed for the commencement of polio vaccination after a period of boycott. The governor ordered the ban last year, amid fears from the public that the vaccine contains antifertility agents and may cause AIDS and cancer. A committee of experts headed by Dr Lawan Alhassan conducted test and confirmed the existence of hormones in the polio vaccine. In lifting the ban, the governor said “the 9-man medical team headed by Prof. Sadiq Wali confirmed the existence of the substance earlier suspected, but said the elements were too insignificant to cause infertility” (Daily Trust 20/7/04 )

The lifting of the ban generated some reactions from the public. In my opinion the governor has discharged the responsibility placed upon him well. When there was a complaint he suspended the program and set up committees to investigate and guide him. It was based on expert advice that he lifted the ban. The same edition of Daily Trust reported that he said,

“We did what we did with full conviction of responsibilities placed upon us by the electorate and if on any day anybody complained of any unsatisfactory act, government will still have the moral responsibility of checking scientifically not on sentiment”

To understand the issue better, I had discussions with Dr. Lawan Alhassan, Prof. Sadiq Wali and Dr. Ibrahim Datti Ahmed, the National President of the Supreme Council for Shari’a Implementation in Nigeria (SCSN). Generally, it’s all agreed that the vaccine contains the hormones and as earlier reported in Daily Trust ( 16/7/2004 ) the Indonesian vaccine which the federal government had wanted to supply when Kano State requested from the federal government was more contaminated than the previous ones. For many people, this has put to rest the issue of contamination earlier denied.

But according to Prof. Wali the vaccine is safe because the elements found were too insignificant to cause infertility, the elements occur naturally in the body and are necessary for its normal function, hence cannot be inhibited without harming the body. The vaccine is given orally and not by injection, making it very unlikely to cause infertility. He is also yet to come across any literature that scientifically demonstrates the vaccine when given orally can cause infertility in the long run.

The issue of contamination was mishandled. Prof. Sadiq Wali (at the Arewa Media Forum), WHO, NPI and the Federal Government team headed by Prof. Umar Shehu all initially denied the presence of the hormones that were later confirmed to be present. Also, instead of addressing issues, the WHO resorted to mounting pressure by spreading unsubstantiated claims (claims the local people cannot understand) of polio spread and false reports on polio outbreaks. This increased suspicion and generated a lot of tension to the effect that many now believed the governor was pressurized into accepting the vaccine. People seemed to have made up their mind on what to believe.

As observed earlier by Dr. David Heymann of WHO “It is still a major job to have the population understand the vaccine is safe” (www. Irinnews. Org/Report ID =42275). The population will surely understand the vaccine is safe when they are enlightened on why hormones are present in the vaccine and why they are not removed. For now, the only hope is to build on the credibility and goodwill of the governor.

It is rather unfortunate. From their reaction, people were hoping the test will confirm the absence of antifertility agents or that uncontaminated vaccine will be made available or an acceptable explanation offered, so that the noble objective of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative could be achieved - A better world, free of this crippling disease comes 2005.

Ahmed Gana.

Kano , Nigeria .