Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has reaffirmed his determination to ensure Nigeria is finally certified polio-free by 2017.
President Buhari with governors of polio-vulnerable states and members of the High-Level Advocacy Group.
The president made this known speaking at the State House in Abuja on Monday, August 31, at a meeting with governors of polio-vulnerable states and members of the High-Level Advocacy Group.
Buhari urged all the Nigerians to join hands with the government in eradicating polio.
Malam Garba Shehu, the senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, quoted Buhari as saying that in order to become permanently polio-free, Nigeria must build on its achievement of being polio-free for 12 months.
Buhari said he had initiated the meetings with the governors and Advocacy Group members because the country could not afford a reversal of what had been achieved after 17 years of the polio eradication programme in Nigeria.
In July 2015, Nigeria marked a year of being polio free, but the fight against polio is not yet over, experts say.
He said: “I want to reaffirm the commitment of the federal government to sustain the gains and momentum to enable Nigeria achieve certification by 2017.
“I am therefore inviting you to join me in actualising this pledge as experts have cautioned that the progress we have made in the polio eradication efforts is still very fragile and that there is the risk of gains reversal if we don’t sustain this great effort and allow complacency to set in.
“As you are aware, the fact that we have not had any case of polio for over a year now, does not mean that we are polio free. It is just one of the milestones on the path to being polio-free.
“I understand that for Nigeria to be certified polio-free, we have to sustain this zero polio case status, strengthen surveillance in order to detect quickly any case of polio anywhere in the country, improve routine immunisation coverage and provide the needed human and material resources.”
Dr Rui Gam Gaz, the representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Nigeria, praised the strong political support for the eradication of polio in the country.
It is recalled that in July, Nigeria marked a year free of polio, a well celebrated feat in the nation’s history. In the spirit of the celebration, President Buhari on Saturday, July 25, said that his administration would do everything in its power to ensure that no child is ever affected with polio again.
The president personally vaccinated one of his grandchildren against polio at an occasion to demonstrate his commitment to eradicating the virus from Nigeria, as well as the safety and efficacy of the polio vaccine.
President Buhari personally vaccinated one of his grandchildren against polio on July 25, 2015. Snapshot from a video: ChannelsTV
He was quoted by his spokesman, Femi Adesina: “Achieving this feat has placed us firmly on the path to eradicating this paralyzing disease from our land.
“I seize this opportunity to call on Governors, our traditional and religious leaders, the private sector and our mothers and fathers to redouble their efforts to ensure that every child and every new-born baby is vaccinated with the polio vaccine and other life saving routine vaccines.”
The Rotary International, District 9125 Nigeria, in congratulating Nigeria and its partners on the feat, however, warned that it is not yet time for celebration, as a lot more work still needed to be put into polio eradication efforts to qualify Nigeria for the WHO certification in 2017.
Mike Omotosho, the organisation’s district governor, called for increased immunisation across the country.
“This is a huge milestone, but we still have work to do. One year without polio means that Nigeria will now be on the list of non-polio endemic nations pending WHO ratification.”
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