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Nigeria’s Pearl Okoro named one of 5 women leading fight to end polio

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BY GLORY ADESEGUN


Nigerian Rotarian, Ijeoma Pearl Okoro, has been named one of five Rotary women leading the fight to end polio, by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), the public-private partnership leading the effort to eradicate polio in the world.

Others named alongside Okoro are Judith Diment of the Rotary Club of Maidenhead Thames, England; Tayyaba Gul of Pakistan; Ann Lee Hussey, Maine, United States and Marie-Irène Richmond-Ahoua from Cote d’Ivoire.

Okoro is a member of the Rotary Club of Port Harcourt, Nigeria where she directs ‘End Polio Now’ activities throughout sub-Saharan Africa. She leads efforts to build awareness around the fight to eliminate polio from Nigeria and engages other Rotary members and the public through events and promotional endeavours.

Through a range of activities like government advocacy, celebrity engagement and fundraising, Okoro’s leadership helps ensure that polio eradication is a priority and every child is protected from the disease.

“Until the last child is reached and immunized, no child in the world is free. Let us all support the cause to end polio now,” she says.

In 2019, Nigeria surpassed three years without a case of the wild poliovirus, and the African Region is expected to be certified as wild polio-free in August 2020.

As recently as 2012, Nigeria accounted for more than half of all polio cases worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

WHO which recently announced that Nigeria is no longer endemic to the wild poliovirus said the country has made remarkable progress against polio, but continued vigilance is needed to protect these gains and ensure that polio does not return.

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