From intense rejection to advocacy: How Muslim clerics were engaged in a polio eradication initiative in Northern Nigeria
Before the allegations of polio vaccine contamination a decade ago, Nigeria's polio eradication initiative (PEI) was affected by traditional barriers such as inadequate funds, poor coverage, poor supervision, broken cold chains, and lack of community mobilization and ownership. However, after the allegations of contamination of the vaccine with HIV, carcinogens, and sterilizing agents, the program was completely halted in some states, leading to the reversal of gains made in the global PEI. Following this program interruption, infection reemerged in 20 countries in which the polio virus had been previously eradicated
Subsequently, religious, safety, and fertility concerns became the main barriers to polio vaccination in most of northern Nigeria, one of the few remaining holdouts of the disease worldwide. Even in areas with better uptake, failure to engage parents and discuss why a fully vaccinated child may develop polio disease, for instance, increased parents' negative perception of the program. Rebuilding community trust, understanding, cooperation, and support—all of which were lost to the groundless controversy on the vaccine's safety—became necessary.