ABUJA – President Mohammadu Buhari has
expressed happiness on the delisting of Nigeria
as a polio endemic country by the World Health
Organization, WHO, vowing to maintain the
status.
The president also stated that his government
was committed to completely eradicating the
disease in 2017.
He spoke at a ceremony to mark the delisting of
Nigeria from polio endemic list at the presidential
villa in Abuja.
President Buhari further stated that the
presidential task force on the disease would be
reconstituted to meet the target in 2017.
He said: “It is with great pleasure that I receive
you and your team today on this very happy
event,marking more than a year in which no polio
case was reported in our country.
“For 14 consecutive months,Nigeria has not
recorded any new case of polio virus.This, as I
had been briefed, is the first step towards
certification of Nigeria as polio virus free country
by WHO in the next two years.
“This achievement, I recall, also resonated at the
70th UN General Assembly when the Director-
General of WHO, Dr. Margaret Chan, mentioned
it. I therefore commend WHO for their consistent
steawardship in Global Health Security
“As you are aware our, effortsto to eradicate this
crippling disease started in 1998.It has taken a
lot of toll on our country in terms of human and
material resources. We are however not relenting
as we are determined to achieve our collective
goal of saving our children from further paralysis
from polio.
“I want to assure you that there will be no
complacency, as we will maintain and improve on
our surveillance system as well as raise the
childhood population immunity against the polio
virus to avoid any spread of the disease.
The federal government will sustain the current
momentum and we shall continue to regard this
campaign as an emergency until we are declared
polio free in the next two years.
“I would like to reiterate the federal
government’s commitment towards the
achievement of a polio free Nigeria in 2017. The
Government will sustain the needed funding for
operations and vaccine procurement for the
programme.
“Also, the Presidential Task force on Polio
Eradication will be reconstituted under the
leadership of the Federal Ministry of Health to
provide political direction and oversight in order
to avoid complacency and relapse.”
The president also thanked the WHO, Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation and other partners
that have consistently showed concern on the
eradication of polio virus in Nigeria.
“I would like to place on record my
recommendation for the vaccinators, community
mobilizers, partners, parents and caregivers who
have supported the polio eradication initiative of
Government through the years.
“I would like to commend the support of our
traditional and religious leaders who have
contributed immensely to the polio eradication
efforts. By the same token we thank
development partners, particularly WHO, UNICEF,
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, US-CDC,
Rotary International, and a host of others who
contributed financially and materially to the over-
all efforts”, he said.
In her remarks, the Director-General of WHO, Dr
Margaret Chan, who was represented at the
event by WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr
Matshidiso Rebecca Moeti, attributed the
success to the contributions and contributions of
all relevant agencies, urging Nigeria to ensure
that no child got paralyzed in next two years.
“However, it is very clear that even though polio
transmission in Nigeria has been interrupted, we
still have a long road to travel towards its
eradication. We must ensure that in the next two
years no child is paralysed due to polio.
“Therefore, there is need for the efforts and
investment to continue in order to sustain the
gains; to ensure that at the state level, local
government areas chairmen are fully involved in
supporting polio campaigns; and to ensure timely
disbursement of the state’s counterpart funds to
guarantee good quality campaigns,’’ she said.
She recalled that the Country Cooperation
Strategy between Nigeria and WHO has provided
WHO the areas to give necessary technical
supports until end 2019, saying that the WHO
Regional office for Africa has articulated a five-
year transformation agenda aimed at enhancing
the performance of the WHO Secretariat in
support of its member states.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of National
Primary a Health Care Development Agency, Ado
Muhammad in a presentation on polio Eradication
Initiative outlined the challenges the country may
face in its determination to completely eradicate
polio.
He stated that the country may have to expend $
155 million in 2016 and $249 million in 2017 to
achieve the objective.