President Muhammadu Buhari Monday in Abuja reaffirmed his determination to
ensure that Nigeria is finally certified polio-free by 2017 and urged all
Nigerians to join hands with the Federal Government to achieve the objective. Speaking
at separate meetings with governors of polio-vulnerable states and members of
the High-Level Advocacy Group, President Buhari said that to become permanently
polio-free, Nigeria must build on its achievement of being polio-free for 12
months which was marked in July.
The President said that he had initiated the meetings with
the Governors and Advocacy Group members because the country could not afford a
reversal of what has been achieved after 17 years of the polio eradication
programme in Nigeria.
"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 actualizing
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 immunization coverage and provide the
needed human and material resources," President Buhari said.
The President urged the governors to diligently supervise
the polio eradication programme in their states and join the Federal Government
in ensuring that the required resources are provided and efficiently utilized
to achieve the desired result.
"Between now and 2017, we must ensure that we continue
to build confidence in our people to present their children and wards for
immunization. We also need to interface regularly with our LGA chairmen to
ensure that there is no complacency. We must make Nigeria Polio free in 2017.
We must put all our efforts to achieve this milestone for the sake of our
children, future generations and the over-all health and well being of the
nation," he told them.
President Buhari assured the governors and advocacy group
members that his administration will continue to give the required leadership
towards Nigeria's final certification as being polio-free through the Federal
Ministry of Health and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency.
The representative of the World Health Organization in
Nigeria, Dr. Rui Gam Gaz praised the strong political support for the
eradication of polio in the country. He told the President that lessons
learnt from Nigeria will be used in the search for ways to end polio in other
areas of the world.
0 Comments