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.
Garba Shehu
SSA to the President
(Media & Publicity)
August 31, 2015
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