WORKING PAPER 261 - Institute of Development Studies

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IDS WORKING PAPER 261 Polio Vaccines – Difficult to Swallow. The Story of a Controversy in Northern Nigeria Maryam Yahya IDS Working Paper 261 First published by the Institute of Development Studies in March 2006 © Institute of Development Studies 2006 ISBN 1 85864 607 3 A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library. All rights reserved. Reproduction, copy, transmission, or translation of any part of this publication may be made only under the following conditions: • with the prior permission of the publisher; or • with a licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd., 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 9HE, UK, or from another national licensing agency; or • under the terms set out below. This publication is copyright, but may be reproduced by any method without fee for teaching or non-profit purposes, but not for resale. Formal permission is required for all such uses, but normally will be granted immediately. For copying in any other circumstances, or for re-use in other publications, or for translation or adaptation, prior written permission must be obtained from the publisher and a fee may be payable. Available from: Communications Unit Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex Brighton BN1 9RE, UK Tel: +44 (0) 1273 678269 Fax: +44 (0) 1273 621202 E-mail: bookshop@ids.ac.uk Web: www.ids.ac.uk/ids/bookshop Printed by Imagedata Group, Brighton UK IDS is a charitable company limited by guarantee and registered in England (No. 877338). 02
IDS WORKING PAPER 261 Polio Vaccines – Difficult to Swallow The Story of a Controversy in Northern Nigeria Maryam Yahya Abstract Global health and poverty reduction discourses have recognised immunisation as one of the most affordable and effective means of reducing child mortality and in a broader sense, as an essential contribution to poverty reduction efforts. While immunisation comes with countless benefits, it is potentially a complex and difficult health strategy to enforce. Decisions on broader health as well as immunisation goals are often made at a global level to be incorporated and adapted in to national health plans and budgets. Evidently for immunisation campaigns, the journey from the global to the local is a vulnerable and unpredictable one. Indeed ‘anti-vaccination rumours’ have been defined as a major threat to achieving vaccine coverage goals. This is demonstrated in this paper through a case study of responses to the Global Polio Eradication Campaign (GPEI) in northern Nigeria where Muslim leaders ordered the boycott of the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV). A 16-month controversy resulted from their allegations that the vaccines were contaminated with anti-fertility substances and the HIV virus was a plot by Western governments to reduce Muslim populations worldwide. Through desk and field research, this paper explores the political and cultural angles of this controversy revealing deeper dimensions and complex factors that have contributed to the rejection of the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) in northern Nigeria. Through the lens of the local northern Nigerian communities, this paper examines and brings to question the roles, responsibilities and actions of global and national actors in implementing effective immunisation campaigns with a view to curbing and managing ‘antivaccination rumours’ and informing better practices for international health partnerships. I will argue that while the polio vaccine boycott has proved costly in both economic and human terms, it has opened up important lines of communication at both global and national levels, deepening dialogue, participation and sensitivity. Keywords: Nigeria, polio, vaccination, immunisation. Maryam Yahya is a freelance Anthropological Researcher who was employed as a Research Officer at IDS during March–August 2005. This paper was written as a sub-study within a DFID-funded project led by Melissa Leach (Fellow, IDS) and James Fairhead (Anthropology, University of Sussex) on ‘The Cultural and Political Dynamics of Technology Delivery: The Case of Infant Immunisation in Africa'. The idea for the study was conceived in consultation with Melissa Leach and James Fairhead, who also provided guidance on improving an initial literature review and post-fieldwork draft. Further comments are welcome and can be sent to Maryam Yahya at maryamis@yahoo.co.uk. 03
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