Sociocultural context of poliomyelitis: Its’ impact on childhood immunization in northern Nigeria

Norizan, Abdul Ghani and Shehu, Dalhatu (2017) Sociocultural context of poliomyelitis: Its’ impact on childhood immunization in northern Nigeria. Man in India, 97 (22). pp. 353-365. ISSN 0025-1569

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Abstract

Sociocultural barriers are closely and highly related to public perception in regards to immunization of children from 0-5 five years of age, and these influence the level of health promotion in a given community. It is difficult to criticize vaccines initiatives, however without considering local interest into justification and fostering community participation, immunization compliances and acceptance are not likely to succeed. The situation in northern Nigeria is highly critical where there is a strong sociocultural belief to the extents that some people have distrusted claims about the safety of the western biomedicines. The objective of this study is to ponder into the influence of sociocultural context in relation to childhood vaccination between different communities’ and the its’ impacts on childhood immunization. The methodology of this study is qualitative and the analysis is typically thematic in nature. The governments of Nigeria reacted vigorously to what they saw as a threat to their credibility. They declared total war not only on polio, but also on the enemies of polio immunization; over 100 families were recently arrested in northern Nigeria and jailed for missing polio vaccinations and several journalists were prosecuted for inciting murder and disorder after broadcasting a radio program criticizing the eradication campaign. And, far from questioning the limits of pushing polio eradication campaign, eradication at any price, the murder of polio workers is described as ‘tremendous sacrifices’.But the difficulties encountered by the initiative in obtaining the support of some populations on the final mile to eradication also challenges one assumption behind the goal of eradication itself: the capacity to fully control people’s behavior and attitudes towards public health interventions. Operational successes on which prospects for polio eradication were built(such as the eradication of smallpox and the elimination of polio in developed countries cannot be simply copied and pasted in different socio-political and sociocultural contexts.

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