Nigerian state lifts polio vaccine ban

Community Action, June 14, 2004

LAGOS -- Nigeria's predominantly Muslim state of Kano has ended its eight-month ban on polio vaccinations, declaring that samples of new vaccines were "found safe," a local official said. The ban led to outbreaks of polio in nine African countries previously declared polio-free, according to an Agence France-Presse report.

Kano government spokesman Sule Ya'u Sule said the state would import new drugs from Indonesia, a majority Muslim country, and renew participation in the World Health Organization's polio immunization drive.

"Importation of the safe vaccines will be any time from now," Sule told AP. "I cannot give you an exact date at this moment but we will soon begin immunization."