By Ndidi Chukwu
In an effort to ensure that Nigeria remains polio free to the total WHO certification,Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari and the 36 State Governors in Nigeria have made a public pronouncement of their commitment to reach the eradication status by the year 2017.
In a communiqué signed by the President and the Nigerian Governors’ Forum as well as Executive Governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Ahmed Yari shows that the state Governors have made a policy statement they can be held accountable for.
The communiqué reads, “Communiqué on the renewal and adoption of Governors’ Abuja Commitments to Polio Eradication. Renewal and adoption of Commitment to Polio Eradication, following meeting with His Excellency, Alhaji Muhammadu Buhari, President, Federal Republic of Nigeria with the Nigerian Governors’ Forum and Mr. Bill Gates, Co-Chair, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, on 20 January, 2016 at Abuja”
“We, the Executive Governors of the thirty – six States of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, hereby renew and adopt the resolutions of the 2nd February, 2009 meeting of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum with Mr. Bill Gates at Abuja, which were confirmed and adopted on the 29th of September, 2011 meeting with Mr. Gates. We hereby renew our Commitment to Polio Eradication in Nigeria”
“We therefore RENEW our COMMITMENT to; review progress against the revised Abuja Commitments at a quarterly meeting of the Presidential Task Force on Polio Eradication presided over by His Excellency, Mr. President”
It also reads, that they will be facilitating swift response to any outbreaks in their States by convening State Executive Council meetings and declaring Public Health State of Emergency within 72 hours of notification of a confirmed case, personally attend weekly meetings on outbreak response and declaring the outbreak over within 6 months and direct LGA Chairmen to chair all outbreak response meetings.
Similarly, they will be providing active leadership of polio eradication and routine immunization activities in the State by releasing State and LGA counterpart funds in quarterly trenches for polio campaigns and 6 months trenches for routine immunization as well as direct LGA chairmen to release fortnightly and quarterly trenches for polio campaigns and routine immunization respectively.
Furthermore, maintain the zero polio case status of our State and LGAs by improving the operational quality of polio campaigns through chairing of quarterly meetings with LGA chairmen, traditional leaders and State Task Force on Immunization to review planning, implementation and results of polio eradication activities, routine immunization and identify remedies for poor performing LGAs and direct LGA Chairmen to do same.
There is also the commitment to improve primary health care in line with the concept of PHC Under One Roof by establishing and empowering the State Primary Health care Agency to perform its role within the tenet of accountability and transparency.
These commitments are now regarded as government public policy statement to polio eradication.
