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President Goodluck Jonathan has restated his commitment to the total eradication of the wild polio virus from Nigeria.
 

President Jonathan was speaking after he received a briefing from the Presidential Task Force on Polio Eradication, presented by the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Mohammed Ali Pate, at State House, yesterday.
 

He said “I do not want any political leader to hand over polio to his successor in 2015, and I am fully committed to oversee the total eradication of the polio virus from Nigeria.”

Jonathan said Governors and Local Government Chairmen must take direct personal responsibility for the eradication because, “it is basically a primary health care issue.”

President Jonathan said lack of funds could not be an excuse for failure, just as population size could not be an obstacle, since India, with about 1 billion people had successfully eradicated the disease.

Responding to proposals for legislation to check non-compliance with the immunization days, President Jonathan said more attention should be paid to advocacy, because legislation had failed to help end health problems such as female genital mutilation.

In a presentation titled, “Last Frontiers of Polio Eradication in Nigeria”, Dr. Mohammed Ali Pate, Minister of State for Health, said there was a concerted effort to halt polio in Nigeria, pointing to improving immunity in 94% of the country’s local governments.

 http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/index.php/other-sections/lead-stories/179014-jonathan-pledges-commitment-to-polio-eradication