Third case of polio has been confirmed in Nigeria

A third case of polio has been confirmed in Nigeria, again in the north-eastern state of Borno, the area that was recently won back from jihadist group Boko Haram.

The devastating setback could not have come at a worse time. The beleaguered Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) is finally entering the home stretch, and program leaders were just about to declare a hard-earned victory in Nigeria—3 years without a case of wild poliovirus.

More cases are expected to be discovered in these areas. It is an indicator that Nigeria’s war on polio cannot be won until it overcomes the insurgency by extremists who are violently opposed to Western medicine.