Count Down to polio eradication in Nigeria, July 2013

In a bid to fine-tune strategies for reaching more children during Immunisation Plus Days, polio survivors were engaged recently in Igabi Local Government Administration (LGA), Kaduna state as community mobilisers with special focus on non-compliant families and children found on the streets.

Serving as testimonials, polio survivors otherwise called victims of polio infection worked as forerunners of the street vaccination teams, educating parents on the dangers of rejecting polio vaccination.

“We don't want our younger brothers and sisters to become crippled like us. This is why we have volunteered to mobilise and educate families on the importance of polio vaccination”, 

“We usually ask the families, do you want your child to be like me when he grows up? Do you want your child to be a burden on your family like I am to my family?”

“With these questions, we have resolved many long standing cases of non-compliance because nobody really wishes his or her child to be crippled like any of us”, says Abdullahi, one of the polio victims.