Nigeria has made a vital step towards being declared polio free, after marking a year without a recorded case.
It can now be taken off the list of countries where the disease is endemic, if the World Health Organization (WHO) confirms the results.
Nigeria had struggled to contain polio since some northern states imposed a ban on vaccinations in 2003.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries to record cases in 2015.

Global health experts are hoping polio can become only the second human infectious disease to be eradicated, after smallpox.



Nigeria will still have to wait a further two years without a recorded case to be certified as polio free.

Polio:

An infectious disease caused by a virus which invades the nervous system and may cause irreversible paralysis
It can strike at any age but mainly affects children under five
Polio vaccine, given multiple times, can protect a child for life
As long as a single child remains infected with polio, unvaccinated children in all countries are at risk
Nigeria polio: Immunising the vaccine fears
Nigeria's battle to contain polio

Polio can only be prevented by vaccination as there is no cure.
The 2003 immunisation ban in some northern states followed allegations by some state governors and religious leaders in the mainly Muslim north that vaccines were contaminated by Western powers to spread sterility and HIV among Muslims.
Independent tests ordered by the Nigerian government in 2004 declared that the vaccines were safe.
But there was still some hostility in a few areas to vaccination drives, with violent attacks against health workers.
The last attack was in 2013 when nine polio vaccinators were shot dead at health centres in the northern Nigerian city of Kano.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33650543
Cc lalasticlala , ishilove

Goodluck Jonathan promised to totally eradicate the scourge and vowed to hand over a polio free nigeria, he fulfilled that promise, bless you sir.

impressive...

SenseiX:
Goodluck Jonathan promised to totally eradicate the scourge and vowed to hand over a polio free nigeria, he fulfilled that promise, bless you sir.

Love that picture..onward forever....miss GEJ, my president for life not that doofus in the villa

Same Polio that successive northern rulers failed to eradicate, GEJ was God sent to the masses up north.

Mogidi:
Same Polio that successive northern rulers failed to eradicate, GEJ was God sent to the masses up north.

The irony was they still reviled and hated him

My best president ever! **GEJ**

Na GOdwin. But kudos to Gej on dis one

GEJ thank you

SenseiX:

The irony was they still reviled and hated him

Because of their feudal mentality it was a thankless job. Check his achievement in educating the Almajiri, the many colleges/universities built to accelerate that region's progress, I believe history and posterity will accord GEJ his due.

Once again GEJ

LordVarys:
Kudos also to Onyebuchi Chikwe, Muhammadu Pate and the Bill Gates Foundation.
Lalasticlala

Goodluck Jonathan's administration excelled in polio eradication no doubt.

We just wish he didn't loot the country dry, and cause loss of thousands of lives through a different scourge called Boko Haram.

God bless GEJ

His mistakes aside though, GEJ did have his merits, Posterity will judge him well, Kudos also to Onyebuchi Chukwu, Muhammadu Pate and the Gates Foundation.

fulanimafia:

Oh yeah, Bubu is a doofus...

GEJ the silent achiever.....
Nigerians will forever remember your good works.
Northerners ruled for decades yet couldnt achieve what you achieved in 5years.


Meanwhile the dullard is busy doing nothing

goodnews

.

some of us cried when Gmb was declared winner. gej was on a journey to greatness . Nigeria would have be the pride of the Africa continent in fews years. but the majiris were to daft to project into the future. here we are, no direction no fucus.

Great! That is real change and not the fake change currently being championed by broom wielding demons, aka masturbators

and here we go,three days with days without power outage. e be like jona embezzle electricity too oo

Jonathan legacy is working. GEJ my HERO.

God Bless Gej!

No front page for this good news?

God bless president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan..