Other Issues
There are several parallel issues that further complicate polio and its prevention in Nigeria. To begin with, Nigeria is a country in Africa, a continent that receives attention for many serious struggles with disease. Some of the diseases present in Africa may seem more pressing and immediate than polio. HIV and AIDS are at epidemic levels in much of sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria. In addition, malaria and measles are common and often fatal. (Schimmer and Ihekweazu, 2006.)
Poverty level contributes to polio and disease in every form. Poor areas of Nigeria with outbreaks of diarrhea (also a common, and frequently fatal, childhood affliction) and low sanitation make the spread of polio easy. Roberts (p. 1961, 2004) states that, "despite its prevalence, polio was less visible in these areas, lost against the backdrop of other devastating childhood diseases such as malaria, diarrhea, measles, and tuberculosis." Health care providers may not see polio as an urgent issue because it is not fatal as often as other childhood illnesses. Paralysis is debilitating on a personal, social and economic level for people in the country, but even that does not happen to everyone who contracts polio.
Sparsely populated rural areas in Northern Nigeria are difficult to reach during NIDs, and more children there remain unimmunized. (Roberts, 2004.) If mass immunization is to continue as the main method of dealing with polio, we will have to examine the differences between urban and rural families and find out what puts rural children at risk (besides being more "out of the way").
Violence within the country, including bombings and killings, and government corruption also pose problems for polio eradication (Lewis, Robinson and Rubin, 1998). These issues distract from disease and direct money and effort away. They also increase economic unstability, something we have already seen makes the polio spread easier. In order to address these issues we will have to look closely at the impact of violence on communities in Nigeria, and how the community members maintain stability or destabilize. A good method for researching this would be open-ended or semi-structured interviews, allowing people in communities affected by violence to explain the impact it has had.
Poverty level contributes to polio and disease in every form. Poor areas of Nigeria with outbreaks of diarrhea (also a common, and frequently fatal, childhood affliction) and low sanitation make the spread of polio easy. Roberts (p. 1961, 2004) states that, "despite its prevalence, polio was less visible in these areas, lost against the backdrop of other devastating childhood diseases such as malaria, diarrhea, measles, and tuberculosis." Health care providers may not see polio as an urgent issue because it is not fatal as often as other childhood illnesses. Paralysis is debilitating on a personal, social and economic level for people in the country, but even that does not happen to everyone who contracts polio.
Sparsely populated rural areas in Northern Nigeria are difficult to reach during NIDs, and more children there remain unimmunized. (Roberts, 2004.) If mass immunization is to continue as the main method of dealing with polio, we will have to examine the differences between urban and rural families and find out what puts rural children at risk (besides being more "out of the way").
Violence within the country, including bombings and killings, and government corruption also pose problems for polio eradication (Lewis, Robinson and Rubin, 1998). These issues distract from disease and direct money and effort away. They also increase economic unstability, something we have already seen makes the polio spread easier. In order to address these issues we will have to look closely at the impact of violence on communities in Nigeria, and how the community members maintain stability or destabilize. A good method for researching this would be open-ended or semi-structured interviews, allowing people in communities affected by violence to explain the impact it has had.