How religios and cultural values influence polio immunization uptake Literature review

How religios and cultural values influence polio immunization uptake in Northern Nigeria - Literature review Example However, it is noteworthy in this context that immunization has already been able to eliminate various regions throughout the globe, except in three particular countries, i.e. Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria, which perhaps, might have been owing to the issues associated with religious as well as cultural values (Plotkin, 2011). Owing to its success and efficiency in mitigating risks of various controllable diseases, the importance of immunization has emerged as quite prominent in the recent phenomenon. Notably, it is often credited by medical practitioners to be directly related with the promotion of health and wellbeing of the people, which has in turn enhanced its efficiency and importance to a vast magnitude (Onyebuchi, 2013). Importance and positive effects of immunization is very much apparent in the region of Northern Nigeria. However, recent reports have revealed about the reluctance of people in Northern Nigeria to immunize their children with polio vaccination, principally owing to their religious and cultural orthodoxy (Otieno, 2013; Oshinsky, 2005). Contextually, as per the study of Otieno (2013), there is a degree of religious fear persisting amid the people in Nigeria to immunize their children and protect them from polio. Though the people belonging to the region of Northern Nigeria have made several deliberate efforts towards combating the disease, little positive results have been obtained. Consequently, conducting the process of polio immunization at an extensive rate in Northern Nigeria has been quite challenging for the concerned authorities owing to the fact that most of the people in this part of the world are gypsies and are thus, used to move from one place to other without having any fixed address. This makes it even more challenging for the practitioners to continually monitor the developments of these people and ensure that the immunization process is undertaken