Nigeria committed to eradicating variant poliovirus by 2023 – Shettima

Vice President Kashim Shettima says Nigeria is committed to eradicating the variant poliovirus by the end of 2023.

Mr Shettima gave this assurance at a Thursday meeting with the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Aliko Dangote Foundation at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The focus of the meeting was healthcare delivery in Nigeria.

The vice president said the government was countering the conspiracy theories and ensuring every Nigerian child had access to quality primary healthcare.

“We are gathered here today because we do not wish to fail to respond to the deaths brought to us by a virus, and we can guarantee such a picture easily if the occupants of this room can promise to work with President Bola Tinubu and invest in this grand vision of a healthy nation.

“If we were not united in fighting the wild poliovirus, we would not have defeated it in 2016.

“This is why we are committed to eradicating the variant poliovirus before the end of this year and ensuring that every Nigerian child is covered in our routine immunisation campaigns.

“But to achieve this, we must identify the threats ahead of us; it is not yet Uhuru; it is not yet time to celebrate.’’

Mr Shettima said that the pentavalent vaccine coverage had improved from 33 per cent in 2016 to 57 per cent in 2021.

He said the stakeholders deserved commendation as the variant poliovirus had declined in Nigeria by 84 per cent from 2021, falling to less than 200 cases in 2022.

“Thanks to you, the states that achieved high category immunisation coverage, between 60 and 80 per cent of the target demographics, have expanded from 12 to 21 states in five years.

“We are well aware of the setbacks and what we must do to build a healthier nation.

“The growing integrity of the data collected by our field workers, some of whom lost their lives or were injured in the line of duty, has facilitated investments in our healthcare delivery system.

“I witnessed the sacrifices made by our field workers who dedicated their lives to promoting routine immunisation firsthand when I was the governor of Borno State.

“So, thank our generous guests here, our friends and allies; they stood with us even in the midst of conflict to ensure that children in partially accessible settlements were not forgotten,’’ the vice president said.

Mr Shettima applauded the governors of Borno, Zamfara, and Sokoto states for their efforts at addressing the core challenges.

According to him, the virus is primarily restricted to the three states.

“I pretty glad that two of the governors are here with us, and they have shown that commitment, zeal, and passion of frontally addressing our challenges.

“So, this gathering is not only a celebration of our progressive synergy to end vaccine-preventable diseases and poverty; it is also a triumph over disinformation and scepticism that have plagued the campaign to build a healthier nation.

“We are not only fighting diseases but also countering the conspiracy theories of those committed to hijacking our interventions, our inspirations.

“I want to assure that the government recognises the pivotal role you have played in our collective role to offer our nation medical and nutritional support at no cost to them,’’ Mr Shettima said.

He said the government would not slow until it delivered its promise to eradicate the poliovirus by the end of 2023.

The vice president reiterated the government’s commitment to building a robust framework to ease access to vaccines and palliatives.

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“We won’t stop until we ensure that the resources deployed by our partners and our counterpart funding are disbursed for the intended purpose.

“We won’t stop until we ensure that the children in our remotest villages have access to primary healthcare and nutrition like their peers in our cities,’’ he said.

On his part, Mr Dangote, chairman of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, said his foundation had been partnering with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for several years.

He said the partnership supported eradicating polio and improving routine immunisation, nutrition and primary healthcare.

“Since Bill’s visit in 2018, we have supported the government’s efforts on human capital development.

“We genuinely believe that the National Economic Council (NEC) and the decisions you will make together over the next four years will determine whether Nigeria has strong economic growth, keeps its citizens healthy and contributes to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

“To achieve all that, as you begin to think about what topics to prioritise at the NEC and the Nigerian Governors Forum, I will like to call on all of you to put human capital development on top of your list,’’ Mr Dangote said.

Earlier in his remarks, Bill Gates, co-founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said his foundation recently announced the intention to commit seven billion dollars to Africa in the next four years.

He said the fund supported routine immunisation in Nigeria and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in Northern Nigeria.

The NGF Chairman, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq of Kwara State, and other governors also spoke at the meeting.

(NAN)