Polio Victim on Front-lines of War Against Crippling Disease in Nigeria (EXCLUSIVE REPORT)

Mallam Aminu Ahmed Wada. In 1965, a few years after polio vaccine was widely available in the west, he was struck by polio. Both of his legs are completely paralysed. He moves on two wooden crutches which are just a few inches high. His mobility depends on the strength of his arms and shoulders. CREDIT: M Bociurkiw/HUMNEWS(HN, August 13, 2011) - Even amid the congestion and chaos of Nigeria's second-largest city, it's almost impossible to miss the roadside property of the Kano Polio Victims Trust Association.

Scrap metal, wheel-chairs, and small, custom-made motorized vehicles for polio victims seems to stretch for as far as the eye can see.

One of the first people to greet you will be Mallam Aminu Ahmed Wada, polio victim-turned-campaigner. His association started about a decade ago with just a few members and now has more than 2000.

In the mid-1960s, a few years after polio vaccine was widely available in the west, Wada was struck by polio. Both of his legs are completely paralysed, and he moves on two wooden crutches which are just a few inches high.

As Wada speaks, sparks fly all around him as welders work wonders with metal pieces to construct these amazing devices. Some are simply plastic lawn chairs on bike wheels, with hand-operated controls for steering.

The devices transform the lives of polio victims, allowing them to travel to job, classes - and around the dusty streets of Kano.

The NGO buys scrap metal and transform it into wheel-chairs, motorized chairs and crutches for polio victims - which are then sold to the state government and others. Part of the association's work is to employ people struck by polio; Rotary International is one of its key supporters.

Wada is a tireless campaigner for polio eradication. He often travels with vaccination teams, urging mothers to vaccinate their children against the crippling disease that has struck thousands of kids in Nigeria, particularly the north.

"Look at me," Wada begs watching mothers during one rally. "Do you want your children to be like me? Please vaccine them."

In 2003, Islamic leaders in northern Nigeria organized a boycott of polio vaccinations, claiming that the vaccines were a Western plot to infect Muslims and make them infertile. But an enthusiastic campaign by UNICEF and others has helped to reduce the case load.

But total polio elimination - the hope of campaigners ranging from Wada to billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates - appears elusive. In Kano alone there have been six cases in the last three months, according to a HUM correspondent in West Africa.

Wada's son, Umar, was also paralysed by the virus in 2004. This was the time Kano State completely rejected polio vaccine because of the boycott. "I woke up in the night to find Umar's leg was weak," says Wada. "We took him to the hospital, but there was nothing we could do." 

Wada, and his wife Hadiza, have nine children. Hadiza is also a polio victim and moves around on crutches.

These devices transform the lives of polio victims in the northern Nigerian state of Kano. CREDIT: Christine McnabAlthough the numbers of cases have plummeted - last year there were only about 20 recorded cases -Wada is the first to tell you that there is no room for complacency. Recently, he presented a non-motorized wheelchair to a young polio victims in Kano state during the launch of a vaccination campaign.

Polio (poliomyelitis) mainly affects children under five years of age. One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis (usually in the legs). Among those paralysed, 5% to 10% die when their breathing muscles become immobilized, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented. Once polio strikes, it cripples the victim for life. Prevention is primarily through polio vaccine, administered multiple times.

Only four countries in the world remain polio-endemic, down from more than 125 in 1988. The remaining countries are Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan.

With files from Christine Mcnab

Comments

[Jo]

Many thanks HUM News for your continued focus on PEI. The road to eradication is arduous, but we shall get there.
Commitment and will is a major hinderance especially at the lower cadre of governance, But a lot of work is being done by partners, especially UNICEF and WHO.
Jo.