Rotary International awards Buhari for his support in eradicating disease
Noting that the last reported case of Polio was July 24, 2014, Muhammadu Buhari has received a Polio Eradication Champion Awards from the Rotary International.
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Though Nigeria has not been declared Polio free, but World Health Organisation WHO has removed Nigeria from its list of Polio-endemic countries, being that no new case of the disease has been recorded for almost 2 years.
KR Ravindran, Rotary International President during an immunization exercise on children at the Primary Health Centre in Abuja stated that the Federal Government has shown its continuous commitment for Polio immunization.
“President Buhari and the Nigerian government have shown they are equal to this challenge, maintaining strong commitment and public support for polio immunization in the face of zero cases.”
Ravindran added that before Nigeria can be declared Polio free, it must have observed three years with no outbreak.
"Let's get one thing straight, that at this moment we have no polio cases in Nigeria, that is a big achievement but the battle is not won yet. We have to continue to keep the same effort for another one and half years to complete the three years period. It is only then that you [Nigeria] will be certified polio free.
"At this point, the important thing is not to sit back, not to get complaisant, and not to think you are already over the bar. We are on the way to success but we can only achieve that in three years. And in those three years we must continue to keep our eyes and ears opened with the same surveillance level to make sure that the virus will not creep back," Ravindran noted.
According to reports, Nigeria has invested over $112 million on Polio eradication activities.
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