The list, now in its seventeenth year, recognizes the activism, innovation and achievement of the world’s most influential individuals.

Dr. Funsho, a cardiologist based in Lagos, Nigeria, is the first Rotary member to receive this honor for the organization’s work to eradicate polio, having played an essential role in ensuring Africa’s certification as wild polio-free in August of 2020.

“I’m honored to be recognized by TIME for my part in ensuring that no child in Africa will ever again be paralyzed by wild polio, a disease that once disabled 75,000 African children every single year,” said Dr. Funsho. “Eradicating the wild poliovirus in Africa was a team effort that required the cooperation and dedication of governments, partners, Rotary members, hundreds of thousands of health workers, and countless parents who chose to have their children vaccinated against polio.”

As the leader of Rotary’s Nigeria National PolioPlus Committee, Funsho has worked alongside Rotary members throughout the country to raise awareness about the importance of polio immunization, encouraged governments and public figures to support polio eradication, and served as a vocal leader and advocate for Rotary’s fight to end polio in Africa.

Dr. Funsho works closely with Rotary’s partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI): the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. As a member of Nigeria’s Presidential Task Force on Polio, he has coordinated immunization and advocacy campaigns with the Minister of State for Health and the Inter-Agency Coordination Committee for Polio Eradication. He has also worked closely with the Sir Emeka Offor Foundation, the Dangote Foundation, the Traditional Leaders Council and the Federation of Muslim Women’s Association of Nigeria.

In August 2019, Nigeria reached three years without a case of wild poliovirus. Nigeria’s progress, led by Rotary, its GPEI partners and local and national governments, was the result of decades of sustained efforts, including domestic and international financing, the commitment of hundreds of thousands of health workers, and innovative strategies to immunize children who previously couldn’t be reached due to insecurity in the country’s northern states.

On 25 August, the African region was certified wild polio-free. This historic announcement means that five of the WHO’s six regions, representing more than 90 percent of the world’s population, are now free of the wild poliovirus. The virus is now endemic in just two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Rotary’s nearly 32,000 members in Africa have played a critical role in helping the region achieve its wild polio-free status by holding events to raise funds and awareness for polio, and working with world governments and national and local leaders to secure funding and support for polio eradication.

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The modelling by Johns Hopkins University is being released today as nine leading health and children’s agencies host the world’s first global conference on childhood pneumonia in Barcelona.

Forecasts show that 1.4 million children under the age of five could die from pneumonia over the next decade in Nigeria, on current trends – the highest number of any country in the world and more than 20 percent of childhood deaths from pneumonia globally.

However, an estimated 809,000 of these deaths would be averted by significantly scaling up services to prevent and treat pneumonia.

Researchers also found boosting pneumonia services would create an additional ‘ripple effect’, preventing 1.2 million extra child deaths from other major childhood diseases at the same time.

Interventions like improving nutrition, increasing vaccine coverage or boosting breastfeeding rates – key measures that reduce the risk of children dying from pneumonia – would also stop thousands of child deaths from diseases like diarrhoea (580,000), meningitis (68,000), measles (55,000) and malaria (4,000).

By 2030, that effect would be so large that pneumonia interventions alone would avert over 2 million predicted under-five child deaths in Nigeria from all causes combined, researchers said.

Pneumonia is caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi, and leaves children fighting for breath as their lungs fill with pus and fluid.

The disease is the leading killer of children in Nigeria, causing 19 percent of under-five deaths.

Most pneumonia deaths can be prevented with vaccines, and easily treated with low-cost antibiotics. But more than 40 percent of one-year-olds in Nigeria are unvaccinated, and three in four children suffering from pneumonia symptoms do not get access to medical treatment.

Peter Hawkins, UNICEF Nigeria’s Country Representative, said:

“We have a responsibility to do all we can to avert these deaths by pneumonia – deaths that are nearly all preventable. It will take concerted action by all players. The announcement by the Nigerian government of the world’s first-ever pneumonia control strategy – coupled with the focus globally on combatting pneumonia – is a huge step forward. We now need to follow this with concrete action on the ground to address the causes and drivers of childhood pneumonia deaths in this country.”

On January 29-31, nine leading health and children’s organisations – ISGlobal, Save the Children, UNICEF, Every Breath Counts, ”la Caixa” Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, Unitaid and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance – are hosting world leaders at the Global Forum on Childhood Pneumonia in Barcelona, the first international conference on childhood pneumonia.

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As part of the demand creation strategies, Almajiri vaccination is the deliberate targeting of eligible children in Almajiri schools with vaccines.

Found predominantly in North-Western Nigeria, Almajiri children are “migrant students” sent from their state of origin to another, to learn Islamic education. However, there have been challenges of non-compliance from some Mallams (Hausa word for ‘teachers’ or ‘caregiver’) of Quranic schools.

“Unfortunately, some Mallams have a religious belief that immunization is not necessary”, says the Permanent Secretary, State Ministry of Health Dr Habibu Yelwa during August 2019 NIPDs (fIPV+bOPV campaign) official flag off.

He added that “some religious doctrines forbid their sick members from going to the hospital. In addition, ignorance and illiteracy towards the true objective of immunization has also served as an impediment to immunization (both routine and SIA) among children in Almajiri Schools. Furthermore, there are Almajiris who have been wrongly educated by their Mallams against immunization making them run away from vaccine administrators. We are working hard to change this narrative,” Dr Yelwa disclosed.

In view of the situation in the North West, in Katsina state, the Government has increased sensitization of community groups including women, traditional birth attendants, community leaders, youths, religious leaders, and Quranic/Islamic teachers. Furthermore, immunization has been preached and promoted in Islamic schools, health camps have been established in Islamic communities, health talks on the importance of immunization during RI sessions have been organized, including compound and taskforce meetings and special outreach sessions for underserved communities including Almajiris.

In addition, government has leveraged on the use of special attractive pluses such as soap and community based micro planning for all target age groups as effective strategies to reach the Almajiri population.

High numbers of Almajiri’s vaccinated

In 2018, a total number of 42 204 Almajiris were vaccinated across 14 Local Government Areas, (LGA’s) in Zamfara state. Meanwhile, in January 2019, total of 52 337 Almajiris were vaccinated across the same 14 LGA’s, while in April 2019, 55 807 Almajiris were vaccinated

In Katsina state a total of 21 182 Almajiris were immunized in January 2019, 33 870 in March, 31,984 in May and 5 560 July. This was done in their respective Quranic schools with the approval of the Mallams.

Katsina State LGA Health Educator, Mr Maina Tukur stated, “in the ongoing September/October 2019 Yellow fever campaign, about 5,342 children have been immunized as at day six and this has helped boost the immunity of a lot of the children”.

Kebbi State also has a number of 13 321 Almajiri vaccinated in 2018 and 13 108 in 2019 despite the challenge of 90% of the Almajiris being over 5 years of age.

During July 2019 NIPDs a total of one hundred and seventy-one (171) eligible Almajiri were vaccinated in Jigawa state with polio vaccine and quite a number of this cohorts group were reached at their Islamic schools.

Efforts to reach the Almajiri Population

In collaboration with the Zamfara State Government, WHO has intensified efforts in reaching Almajiris particularly through community engagement and dialogue with some Quranic Mallams, Sultans, Emirs and key religious focal persons.

“Advocacy visits have been organized at Quranic schools through the religious focal persons of the Local Government Areas (LGA), outlining the Quranic schools in settlements by ward focal persons.”

Furthermore, team supervisors, traditional and religious leaders, detail daily implementation plans (dip) for special teams to cover the identified areas were developed including target population and vaccine required, and also the use of incentives like sweets, soaps, detergents and milk as a plus to children after vaccination.

Support for the expanded programme on immunization in Nigeria through WHO is made possible by funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Centre for Disease Control, Department for International Development (DFID – UK), European Union, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Government of Germany through KfW Bank, Global Affairs Canada, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Rotary International and the World Bank.

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Derived Polio Virus (cVDPV2) with varying degrees of success. The exercise, implemented on 15 – 24 June, was in response to confirmed reports by the Lagos State Government of environmental strains of Polio Virus in Makoko, Itire and Maracana canals, as well as in Imeko Afon LGA of Ogun State.

Initial large-scale zonal supplementary immunization activities were coordinated across all States (Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Ondo and Ekiti), during the OBR1 conducted on 18 -21 May, 2019. Polio eradication teams on the ground covered 89,841 settlements. The teams maximized the impact of available resources and ensured that oral polio vaccine be administered to 9,927,112 under-five year old children in all the States.

Early planning to prevent spread across borders

In Ogun state, which shares an international border with Republic of Benin, a series of planning sessions with representatives from Republic of Benin involving, traditional leaders, religious leaders, Port Health service, Nigeria Immigration Service, Customs, Military and the police ensured every eligible child was reached. During one of the meetings, a counterpart from the Republic of Benin, Dr Bonny Potoku, who is the Secretary General to the inter-border forum in Ipokia (Nigeria) and Igolo (Republic of Benin) border commented, “The time is ripe for the reactivation of our own port health services seeing the amount of resources and commitment from the Nigerian side”. His position was echoed by former Ogun Commissioner for Health, Dr Babatunde Ipaye who said, “Deliberate efforts were being made to target border communities, who are more susceptible to outbreaks due to the migration of people”.

In Nigeria and the Lake Chad sub region, a cVDPV2 outbreak originating in Jigawa state, Nigeria has spread to eleven other states and internationally to Niger Republic and Cameroon.

Initial success build on lessons learnt Speaking on the outcome of the response in Ekiti state, an elated Permanent Secretary from the state Primary Health Care Board Mrs. Bisi Arogundade, said about the exercise; “OBR-2 has been highly successful and impactful. It built on the lessons learnt during the first round.

Government, traditional rulers, partners and other stakeholders have been supportive. I therefore was not surprised at the outcome of the exercise and sure the state will work towards sustaining the achievement”.

In Ondo State, Dr Francis Adegoke Akanbiemu, Executive Secretary, State Primary Health Care Development Agency, expressed the administration’s appreciation on the quality of the coverage. In a letter of appreciation sent to the WHO State Coordinator, he indicated that, “On behalf of the Executive Governor, I appreciate and thank the World Health Organization for the immense support, both in logistics and technical support during the just concluded second round of outbreak response exercise in the state. Without the support, the exercise would have been of less success”.

Support for Polio eradication in Nigeria through WHO, is made possible by funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Department for International Development (DFID – UK), European Union, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Government of Germany through KfW Bank, Global Affairs Canada, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Community Chest Korea, KOFIH (Korea), Rotary International and the World Bank.

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