Nigeria has officially received the certificate and report delisting the country from Polio prevalent countries in the world.
President Muhammadu Buhari was presented with the certificate and report by the World Health Organisation, WHO, Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti in the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Nigerian President declared that his administration would sustain the current momentum aimed at totally eradicating polio virus in the country.
He said government would provide the needed funding for operations and vaccine procurement as well as reintroduce the Presidential taskforce in order to provide the political direction.
The status report was handed to him by officials of the WHO led by the Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti who represented the Director General of the organisation, Dr Margaret Chan, in company of Federal Ministry of Health top management officials.
Eradication and Certification
The delisting of Nigeria from the wild polio virus endemic nations, following one year none discovery of any fresh case, is a precursor to the final eradication and certification of the country as polio-free in 2017.
“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 Taskforce 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.” President Buhari said.
National Health Act
According to him, it was important that the fight against polio and other communicable and non-communicable diseases were anchored on a strong health system for sustainability.
“The National Health Act has made provision for universal access to basic healthcare with a focus on the poor and the vulnerable as well as the basic healthcare provision funds to support its implementation.
“I have already instructed the Federal Ministry of Finance to provide for the basic healthcare provision fund under the 2016 Budget. We are also working on a revised National Health Policy which would have the achievement of Universal Health Coverage as its main ultimate goal,” he added.
Tropical diseases
President Buhari said that the Health Sector under his Administration would be concerned and address the significant morbidity and mortality rates caused by neglected tropical diseases.
“These diseases disproportionately affect the poor and the vulnerable and as such are major concerns of this Administration. We shall ensure that these diseases are no longer “neglected”. He noted
Speaking before handing the report to him; the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Moeti, who congratulated the country for being delisted, noted that the road to final eradication of the virus was still a long one.
Sustained efforts
She therefore advised that the current efforts should be sustained in order to ensure that no Nigerian child was paralyzed by polio in the next 2 years.
She disclosed that a conference for African ministers on immunization was being planned to take place soon as a way of ensuring that there was no room for complacency.
The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Ado Mohammed, the agency in charge of immunization and other programmes aimed at eradication of Polio said that the agency would continue its activities despite the current status of the country on Polio.
The Permanent Secretary, Dr Linus Awute called on the States and Local Governments in the country to queue in to the Federal Government efforts to replicate same at the rural communities’ level.
Posted by Janice Johnson (Source: VON)
