By Asma’u Ahmad
The Executive Secretary of FCT Primary Health Care Board, Dr. Rilwanu Mohammed, has lauded the Federal Government of Nigeria for its swift support to combat the last polio outbreak in the country.
Dr. Mohammed, who gave the commendation in an interview with newsmen in Abuja, said that the Federal Government gave a total of N19 billion for polio and other Routine Immunisations.
According to him, the health sector has never witnessed such rapid support before and that the quick support enable work to commerce immediately to salvage the situation.
He said that the FCT Minister, Mallam Mohammed Bello, in his bid to support polio eradication also gave the board N7.6 million for this round of immunisation in all the area councils in the territory.
He said that the minister, in addition to the money, also gave logistics support to the area councils.
Dr. Mohammed said that the Chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) gave additional five teams of three persons each for mobilisation support and pledged to pay their allowances.
“Due to the four cases of polio reported in Borno State and with the FCT having about 20,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) spreading across nine camps, it makes the territory one of the high risk states.
“We have carried out the first round of immunisation in August and we have just concluded another round of immunisation in October and we will have another one before the year runs out.
“We are going from house to house, market places, places of worship, play grounds, motor parks, parks and railway station to make sure that every child is adequately vaccinated,” he said.
Mohammed said that a new vaccine called Pneumococol Conjugate Vaccine (PCV10) for pneumonia had also been introduced.
The executive secretary also said that the FCT was yet to receive the 1.5 million dollars grant to save the one million lives initiative. “The grant will be used to reduce maternal and infant mortality, improve access to health care, nutritional activity, family planning activity, malaria activity and for HIV/AIDS activity.
“The grant will also be used to procure drugs and revive our drug revolving system; we will also engage the staff that left the Primary Health Care and the SUREP staff,” he added.
The FCT PHCB boss said that the FCT administration planned to set up healthcare centers across the six area councils.
