Health sector in the country on Monday, recived a major boost as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation doled out a whopping sum of 50 million dollars to combat the menace of polio.President of the Foundation, who is also widely known for his MicroSoft invention, Bill Gates, announced the donation at a press conference, in Abuja, after a meeting with state governors in the country.
Gates stated that the donation was part of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative of his foundation, said his foundation was desirous to see the Nigerian people free from the bondage of polio.He further stated that the essence of the fund was to ensure the availability of vaccines for immunization and total campaign against the epidemic in the year 2009.
Speaking on the gesture, the Chairman of Governors' Forum and Governor of Kwara State, Bukola Saraki, who pointed out that Nigeria was the only country where polio had not been eradicated, said they had now taken the challenge and would be directly involved in the entire processes of polio eradication.
Presenting a communique reached at the end of the meeting, jointly signed by him and the Health Minister, Babatunde Osotimehin, Saraki said the governors had committed themselves to providing active leadership in polio eradication activities at the grassroots, allocating additional financial and human resources to strengthen Primary Health Care so that it could sustain routine immunization and improving the operational quality at the local government levels amongst others.
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I followed Gates' visit to Nigeria. Polio is such a shame and we cannot allow it to be part of the heritage we leave for our children. Let's see where that money goes.
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