Shutting Polio Door

A polio-free Africa can help spur economic growth and development

-  Benard Ayieko

A complete state of physical, men-tal and spiritual well-being has always been the quest for human-kind. Part of this balance includes the absence of illness and disease. In fact, peoples’ health has a direct bearing on economic growth and development of a nation.

There is no doubt that Africa has traditionally borne a heavy disease burden, which is a major source of its economic weakness. So, in late August, the declaration by the independent Africa Regional Certification Commission for Polio Eradication that the World Health Organization (WHO) African Region is free of wild poliovirus was met with much jubilation.

The WHO says the news marks the eradication of the second virus from the face of the continent since smallpox 40 years ago. The campaign to make the continent polio-free began in 1996, when African heads of state made the commitment to eradicate the disease during the 32nd Ordinary Session of the Organization of African Unity (precursor of the African Union) in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Polio was paralyzing an estimated 75,000 children annually on the African continent, says the WHO. Today, only Pakistan and Afghanistan are still reporting wild poliovirus.

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines polio as a disabling and life-threatening disease, caused by the poliovirus, that can lead to permanent paralysis of various body parts and may ultimately cause death by immobilizing the patient’s breathing muscles. The poliovirus spreads from one person to another and can infect a person’s spinal cord resulting in paralysis. Polio is transmitted substantially through contaminated water, food or contact with an infected person.