BY RITA OYIBOKA/AMAYINDI YAKUBU/ANGEL OSIGBEMHE
You don’t forget the sight easily.
A young boy, no more than ten, drags himself along the dusty roadside. His thin arms serve as his crutches, palms calloused and darkened by the friction of cement and earth. His legs, twisted, lifeless, lie behind him like forgotten limbs. Cars pass, pedestrians glance, some out of pity, others out of discomfort. But for most, he is a barefaced reminder of a war Nigeria fought and won, or so it seemed.
That boy could have been anyone’s child. He could have been spared, too, if only one more vaccination team had reached his village in time.
A Virus That Once Brought Nigeria to Its Knees
Polio, or poliomyelitis, is not just a disease; it’s a thief. It steals motion, dignity, and dreams, mostly from children under five. Caused by the poliovirus, the infection spreads silently through contaminated food, water, or contact, attacking the nervous system and leading to irreversible paralysis, sometimes death.
In the early 2000s, Nigeria was the world’s polio capital. Over half of all global cases came from our borders. The disease raged through communities, from Kano to Maiduguri, crippling thousands of children every year. It thrived in poverty, fed on misinformation, and hid in conflict zones.
By the mid-1980s and 1990s, waves of outbreaks swept the nation. In 2003, the situation worsened when some northern states, led by Kano, halted vaccinations after false rumours spread that the polio vaccine was laced with infertility drugs and HIV. The result? Cases quadrupled. Nigeria became ground zero for re-infection in Africa, exporting the virus to as many as 20 other countries.
The government, with global partners under the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), including WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, had to start almost from scratch.
A Long Climb to Victory
Through relentless door-to-door campaigns, immunisation drives, and community engagement, Nigeria began to turn the tide. Health workers risked their lives in conflict zones, trudging through flood-prone villages and insurgent territories to reach every child with those two crucial drops. By 2015, the country recorded its first full year without a single wild poliovirus (WPV) case. But just when victory seemed close, Boko Haram’s insurgency in Borno State disrupted vaccination access. In 2016, four new WPV cases were detected, Nigeria’s last.
Three years later, after meeting global verification standards, Nigeria finally celebrated a hard-won milestone:
in August 2020, the African continent was declared free of wild poliovirus.
The celebration was more than symbolic. It was the end of a 30-year battle marked by the deaths of over 70 health workers, countless field campaigns, and nearly $268 million in Rotary funding alone. Nigeria became the last country in Africa to wipe out the wild strain.
But victory, as it turns out, came with a warning label.
The Virus That Won’t Stay Dead
As of October 2025, Nigeria has remained wild polio-free for over five years, yet another enemy lurks: the circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2).
This strain, unlike the original, is born out of the very weapon used to fight it, the oral polio vaccine (OPV). In communities where vaccination coverage is low, the weakened virus in the OPV can mutate and spread. Ironically, the problem doesn’t come from the vaccine itself but from its absence, from children who remain unvaccinated long enough for the virus to circulate and regain strength.
According to the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Nigeria currently accounts for 36 per cent of global cVDPV2 cases, with about 95 confirmed in 2025. Four new variants were detected in Kano State just this October.
Still, the numbers tell a cautiously optimistic story: cases have dropped 44 per cent compared to the previous year, thanks to integrated vaccination drives that target diseases like measles, rubella, and polio together, reaching over 106 million children nationwide.
In Lagos, colourful parades and awareness walks marked World Polio Day on October 24th, while Bayelsa and Kebbi held stakeholder meetings reaffirming their commitment to keep Nigeria polio-free.
Yet, in Nasarawa’s Toto Local Government Area, a new outbreak of a “dry” variant was recently reported, proving that even one missed community can reignite the fire.
Myths, Missteps, and Misunderstandings
The fight against polio in Nigeria is not just biological, it’s psychological.
Vaccine hesitancy, rooted in mistrust and misinformation, remains a stubborn obstacle, especially in the north.
In an interview with a Nurse from Maiduguri, Caleb Samaila, he explained the significance of celebrating Polio Day and the challenges that linger, saying, “Polio Day is a very important day in the world, celebrated every October 24th. It is the day a scientist, Jonah Salk, discovered the first immunisation, which is also known as the Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV). The IPV is the one currently used in hospitals and vaccination centres for the prevention of Polio. The vaccine has helped in various ways, including reducing polio cases, lowering the rate of disability, improving health infrastructure, promoting public health, and building a strong campaign against polio disease.”
Speaking about the resurgence of Polio, Caleb added, “Nigeria was declared polio-free in 2020. In 2023, a resurgence of the polio outbreak occurred. So, presently, we are not polio-free. We have a rebound. This rebound is referred to as a circulating infection of poliovirus, which occurred in 2013 and broke the barrier of being polio-free in Nigeria.”
Caleb went further to narrate the current situation with Polio within the northern region. “In the north, especially here in Maiduguri, I think about 20 to 30 per cent of the children here are suffering from polio disease. However, due to the myth and the false rumours that people have been sharing, many are hesitant to take the immunisation.”
Conflict and insecurity further complicate vaccination efforts. Health workers often face attacks in rural communities or find access impossible due to insurgent control. Meanwhile, poor sanitation and open defecation create perfect breeding grounds for the virus.
The COVID-19 pandemic added another blow. During lockdowns, routine immunisation paused, allowing pockets of cVDPV2 to spread in Nigeria and neighbouring countries like Niger.
The Guardians of Immunity
Behind every successful vaccination campaign are Nigeria’s unsung heroes, the field workers, volunteers, and local influencers who turned the tide.
In Asaba, Pharmacist Ezeribe Ihuoma provides a more vivid picture of why the celebration of World Polio Day deserves recognition, saying, “World Polio Day is a day dedicated to celebrating the efforts of health workers and appreciating their work in ensuring that children are vaccinated against polio.”
Educating us, Iheoma explained the health implications of the virus, “Polio is actually a contagious virus, poliomyelitis, which is transmitted through body contact, such as eating food or drinking water that’s already contaminated by the virus. It can affect the spinal cord and muscles, and the nerves, which can lead to death or paralysis. Some people are disabled for life. It can also lead to blindness and bodily dysfunction. You can move your hand to stand, sit, and all that, because all these functions are controlled by nerves. When the nerves are really damaged, that means you can no longer do that.”
Speaking further, Ihuoma pointed out why the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) designated October 24th to mark awareness for Polio Day, saying that, “The day was designated by the WHO, health organisations, and UNICEF to raise awareness about Polio and the vaccination and medication developed to combat it. It is recognised globally for raising awareness about Polio and promoting polio vaccination among the public.
“It means a lot to Nigeria because, in that way, healthcare workers are also celebrated, and there is a lot of campaigning that goes on in different areas, right down to the primary healthcare system. This awareness is promoted everywhere, such as in the market, open spaces, hospitals, churches, and other public areas, emphasising the importance of vaccination and why parents should allow their children to receive it, as well as polyvalent vaccines.”
Ihuoma explains in depth why vaccination plays an essential role in the fight against the polio virus, acknowledging that “Several systems are introduced throughout the year at various times. It is given at different times of the year. We also have the novel oral polyvalent type 2, which was introduced in 2021. With this system, the novel oral polyvalent type 2 vaccine, implemented in 2021, has now vaccinated 143.6 million children. This has helped boost their immunity to poliovirus.”
According to her, other categories of vaccination available at Nigerian health centres include “The Supplementary Immunisation Activities (SIA) were introduced to strengthen outbreak response efforts. Following the detection of a polio outbreak in Nigeria in 2016, the government, in collaboration with partners, intensified vaccination campaigns. Since then, more than 16 million doses of the oral polio vaccine have been administered across the country. This has helped control the polio outbreak in Nigeria. Can I say that Nigeria is polio-free, based on the statistics? Since 2016, there has not been any record of a polio outbreak.”
In 2021, Nigeria was declared polio-free from the wild poliovirus. According to statistics, Nigeria is now polio-free. However, there are some areas in Nigeria where parents are hesitant about administering the polio vaccine to their children, primarily in the north, due to a lack of information and a perceived ignorance.
Pharmacist Ihuoma continues her advocacy for Polio awareness, saying, “Campaigns and awareness should be created in these areas by healthcare workers, volunteers, and possibly NGOs to educate them about the importance of the vaccine, so that their children can receive a polio vaccine. The polio vaccine is the first vaccine given to a baby at birth. So, if parents are hesitant or mothers refuse their children to take the polio vaccine, then there can be an outbreak again.
“When this awareness is consistently maintained, and they are encouraged, and their children receive this vaccine, we will still keep the record of them. So far, the polio vaccination has been highly effective.”
As a healthcare personnel, Ihuoma sees their work as a service to humanity and as a rare privilege. She said, “For us, the healthcare workers, it (World Polio Day) is a means of encouragement from the government. We are being honoured for our selfless work for humanity and all that it entails. Immunisation is important because children become adults who are fully equipped, able to use their bodies, the different parts of their bodies, to do whatever they want to do. They are not disabled, and they are not liabilities to their parents.
Her warning was sharp: “If mothers refuse those first drops at birth, all this progress can be undone. The virus doesn’t need a passport, just one unvaccinated child.”
Polio Myths Are Fading, But Vigilance Must Continue — Dr Udi
Also speaking, Dr Udi, Senior Registrar, Family Medicine, Federal Medical Centre, Asaba, said:
“What we are celebrating is the day that a vaccine was successfully discovered by a doctor called Jonas Salk. It is usually celebrated or remembered on the 24th of October every year. We know how important polio is and what it has cost humanity before now. But, of course, with vaccination, a lot has changed. So, it’s a day worth remembering, the day that the vaccine, which helped eradicate polio, was successfully discovered.
“Well, since I was born, I remember the polio vaccine being administered. We used to hear a lot about polio and how it caused so many problems across the country. But currently, Nigeria has been declared polio-free, actually, since 2020. Even though we still hear, let’s say, rumours of isolated cases here and there, generally, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Nigeria polio-free after a long period of consistent vaccination. That was about five years ago now, 2020, precisely in the month of August.
To completely eradicate any remaining cases of polio, I think it’s by continuing what has already been done. One of the major measures was placing the polio vaccine on the National Immunisation schedule, ensuring that almost every child born received the vaccine. From time to time, immunisation teams go around vaccinating children, carrying out outreaches, and creating awareness. To sustain that, we just need to intensify efforts and focus more on areas where polio could re-emerge, places with low education levels or affected by disasters and insecurity. There should be more focus on educating people, carrying out surveillance, and maintaining what helped us achieve a polio-free status in the first place.
“As for what people think about polio now, I believe the general perception has improved. In the past, it was quite bad, but over time, people have come to understand the importance of eradicating polio. There are still a few myths lingering, and these myths were among the factors that delayed Nigeria’s declaration as polio-free. In fact, we were the last country to achieve that status.
“Some people used to believe that the polio vaccine could cause infertility, and that made them afraid of taking it. Others thought vaccination was a means of tracking or monitoring people. Those were some of the myths that made people initially resistant to the polio vaccine. But I would say those ideas are gradually fizzling away, not completely yet, but slowly fading.”
Global Lessons from Nigeria’s Battle
Nigeria’s fight is now held up as a model. The World Health Organisation often cites the country’s success as proof that even in conflict and cultural resistance, progress is possible through persistence and partnership.
Africa’s wild poliovirus-free certification in 2020 would not have happened without Nigeria’s turnaround. Today, only Afghanistan and Pakistan still report wild polio cases, 13 in total this year.
But the danger of complacency is ever-present. Vaccine-derived strains have appeared in Burundi and even re-emerged briefly in Madagascar. The virus, as experts say, “travels faster than fear.”
A Fight Beyond Polio
The infrastructure built to combat polio has also become Nigeria’s strongest health weapon. Surveillance systems now track cholera, measles, and even COVID-19 outbreaks. Health workers trained for polio drives are deployed for other emergencies, making polio funding a foundation for broader public health resilience.
Rotary’s Holger Knaack, who visited Nigeria this October, reaffirmed global commitment to finish the job. The goal: total eradication by 2026.
Meanwhile, grassroots groups like “Fathers for Good Health” in northern Nigeria, made up of polio survivors, now lead campaigns against vaccine resistance. Their message is personal: “We crawled so your children can walk.”
The Final Mile
Polio’s story in Nigeria is one of human stubbornness, both the virus’s and our own. It’s a tale of resilience and resistance, of faith and fear, of rumours that cripple and truth that heals.
We are free of wild poliovirus, yes. But until the last mutated strain is silenced, and every child’s tiny finger bears the purple mark of immunisation, the battle isn’t over.As Dr Udi put it, “Dedication made this possible. Only dedication will keep it that way.”
And somewhere on a dusty roadside, a boy with withered legs still watches other children run, a reminder of what’s at stake if we ever forget.
