MSU Researchers On Mission To Eradicate Polio
A team of Michigan State University researchers will head to Nigeria soon with a mission to help eradicate polio which continues to spread throughout many poorer countries.
Using a $384,000 World Health Organization grant, Folu Ogundimu, an MSU associate professor of journalism, and his team will design a health communication plan urging people to get the polio vaccine,
"Northern Nigeria has had some of the highest outbreak of polio viruses in the past few years," Ogundimu said in a statement announcing the trip. "Those outbreaks quickly spread to Africa, then the Middle East, and then Asia and beyond. The spread of this disease threatens the health of the world."
Ogundimu said the research team is pursuing a culturally appropriate approach to analyze the spread of polio in these areas and to create messaging to stop its spread.
The researchers will spend their time in two Nigerian states – Bauchi and Kano – both of which have been identified as major epicenters for the spread of polio throughout West Africa and other parts of the world.
The team will include female researchers from universities in Nigeria, who are trained in research survey methodology and can conduct surveys in Nigerian households. In addition, the team will do a thorough analysis of areas most prone and least prone to outbreaks of polio, including a review of materials, infrastructure and cultural norms.
Then the team will conduct a comprehensive risk assessment and advise the World Health Organization on strategies and messaging to strengthen the public health campaigns to fight polio on a long-term basis.
"Our goal is to develop a strategy that will sustain in the long term and to hand over the tools to the researchers and people of Nigeria, so that families and children know the facts and get the vaccines to prevent this disease," Ogundimu said.
If children are fully immunized before age 5, polio is preventable. WHO's goal is to eradicate polio worldwide.
