Rotary International to finance Nigeria's polio eradication campaign

Rotary International President William Boyd said here on Friday that the association would finance Nigeria with 50 million U.S. dollars to eradicate polio virus.

"Nigeria will receive 50 million dollars of the 650-million- dollar global campaign for wild polio virus eradication." Boyd said at a reception hosted by the Nigerian government in the capital of Abuja.

He said the Nigerian government had put a lot of efforts in combating polio transmission, adding that the battle should be a collective responsibility, success would only be achieved through partnership with donor agencies.

"Global polio eradication cannot be tackled by a single agency, this explains why the World Health Organization, UNICEF, Rotary International and others are collaborating with the Nigerian government to eradicate the disease," he said.

He expressed Rotary International's commitment to the campaign, saying: "it is a battle that will be won."

Nigeria has taken new measures to reduce the disease including routine immunization and patient record card, according to Edugie Abebe, national coordinator of the National Immunization Program.

He added that the government was rebuilding the confidence of the people and sensitizing them on need for the Oral Polio Vaccination.

He said Nigeria was also collaborating with nutrition and roll- back-malaria groups, as well as religious and traditional rulers, explaining that the measures adopted would sustain the campaign against polio.

Source: Xinhua