Almost there...

NB: This post was actually written about 3 weeks ago, but did not have time or access to upload it!! I will give an update this week...

The good news…we have not have a new case of polio in over 10 days here in Nigeria!!! Sounds like something so minor, but for a country that usually has 2-4 cases a day at this point of the year, this is very good news indeed! It is not so say that there really has not been a case of polio, but we have yet to find one recently! So, all the work and money is slowing starting to pya off….however, the big question is really, “How do we sustain this momentum?”, but really we ask ourselves “Is it even possible to sustain?”…our last meeting with all of the who’s who in Nigeria, WHO, international NGOs, and other countries (USA, UK, Europe, etc.), sat around the meeting table and basically shamed the leaders of Nigeria, saying that countries that are in the middle of war (Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan) are actually eradicating, while Nigeria (which is considered relatively peaceful), cannot come close to getting their act together and eradicate one simple disease that is basically eradicated everywhere else in the world!! And, shaming has proved to have some effect, as Nigerians, and especially the religious and political leaders do not like to be shamed!! So, there has been some impact of this, and some good results, but we are a far way off. However, the next year will be tough. 2011 is a presidential election year, with campaigning for president and state governors start early in 2010. Many of our high risk states are areas of risk due to political issues, therefore once campaigning starts we will not be allowed into those areas. Nigeria, and basically Africa as a whole, is never a good place to be during political campaigns…there is no such thing as democracy! So, only time will tell, but at least it is getting interesting and actually there is some hope for us!
I have spent the last 9 days in the field…specifically in northern Nigeria and southwestern Chad….the sights were incredible, but not necessarily in a good way, but in a way that really opened my eyes (yet again), to the challenges of life in sub Saharan Africa. Every year at home, you may read the bottom right corner of a newspaper with a 20-40 word statement or see a very brief clip on the news about the floods and eventual famine, in west Africa. Well, I saw it first hand, and it was beyond anything I could even imagine. These are the worst floods in over 40 years…By floods, they don’t just mean a couple of centimeters of water in the fields…we are talking 6-10 feet of floods in the fields…houses are buried, complete crops lost, animals and people killed in the thousands…and then of course, the outbreaks of disease that follow…cholera, meningitis, measles, and malaria especially, so anyone left, then ultimately suffers even more. I have seen a lot in my 16 months in Africa, but this was one of the most overwhelming times. Here we were trying to immunize kids on polio, but there were many more pressing issues to these families. It was exhausting work, but it is also incredible to see how families come together and support one another, even if they have very little to give, they may still have something to give that could help someone that has nothing.

Rainy season, however, is almost over…for us here in Abuja, it means that the hot, horrible Hamattan season is just around the corner. But, hard to feel sorry for myself…it is what it is!!!! But, good thing and bad thing, is that I will be traveling so much out of Nigeria for work, so I will miss most of the heat…it is that time of year with lots of meetings, so I will be visiting more African countries, as well as again going to Geneva and Malaysia, but then it will be Christmas holidays…and this year, Christmas will be spent in Canada! I will be home for Christmas and possibly longer. Still no set plans for what I will do after Christmas, but I intend to just take some time and figure it out! But looking forward to time with friends and family, and hopefully some good cross country skiing or snowshoeing!!

I will write when I can, but things will be hectic and not very exciting…as UN meetings are the worst!!

A bientot,
Andrea