President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday warned against anything that could stop Nigeria from being certified polio free by the World Health Organization in 2017.
To this end, he has ordered the relevant agencies to raise the tempo of the fight against the polio virus. He gave the order while receiving the polio high level advocacy team at the Council Chambers of the State House, Abuja.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Linus Awute, told State House correspondents after the closed-door meeting that “the President directed us to sustain the tempo that has led us thus far after 17 years and how to do that is clearly developed in the template upon which we are going to work in collaboration with the governors.
“As it is now, there is no polio in our country, but then, we still need to monitor that throughout a period of two years. That is why we need to intensify routine immunization, ensuring that there is no leakage, no gap until 2017 when we shall be certified a polio-free country, having arrested the transmission for upward of one year plus. "
WHO representative in Nigeria, Dr Rui Gama Vaz commended President Buhari's determination to ensure a polio free Nigeria by 2017.
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