A Case Study of the Barriers to Eradicating Polio in Nigeria and India’s Urban and Rural Settings

In this study, we examined polio eradication efforts in the urban and rural areas of Nigeria and India. Our method utilized past literature and databases to support our comparison of the different issues Nigeria and India had with distributing the oral polio vaccine (OPV). The data showed that Nigeria had issues with political and social misconceptions about the OPV in both urban and rural areas while India had technical issues with vaccine distribution. Therefore, it was necessary for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative to implement polio campaigns, reorganize their plan in vaccine distribution, and provide more vaccines to children in isolated areas where there is poor medical infrastructure in both Nigeria and India. We conclude that there needs to be a greater cultural understanding among vaccine distributors and improvements to the vaccine distribution technology in Nigeria and India.