Abuja - US billionaire Bill Gates on
Monday vowed to help end the scourgenof polio in Nigeria.
"This is my fourth visit to Nigeria and every year I come I see us get closer to our goal of polio eradication," Gates said
at a stakeholders' forum on the issue.
Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote,
attended the forum, as did President Goodluck Jonathan and other dignitaries and religious leaders including the supreme head of Muslims, the Sultan of
Sokoto, Sa'Ad Abubakar.
"I have decided to be inbpartnership
with you and I will be excited when webreach this milestone and (there is) nobmore polio" in the country, Gates said.
Gates, wearing a boubou, said some parts of the country were slowing the overall progress made because they had failed to run campaigns and do follow-up
work.
He urged a presidential task force
working on polio eradication "to tracknthese gaps", urging greater interactionbbetween campaigners.
Jonathan applauded the Microsoft
founder "for his commitment to help Africa solve its health problems".
"There is no reason we should not
eradicate polio by 2014. Let me assure you that the federal government is
totally committed to eradicating polio,"
Jonathan said.
Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said Nigeria had reduced by 50 percent then"Type A" polio virus, though 51 cases
had recently been reported.
Jonathan announced the conferment of one of the nation's most prestigiousbhonours, the Commander of the Federal
Republic, on Gates in appreciation of his contribution to wiping out the disease.
Speaking earlier at a meeting with
leaders of the Nigerian parliament,
Gates said the goal to eradicate polio in
the country was possible.
"The goal of saving lives is a very
realistic goal. Through these efforts I do
think that children who do survive will
be far healthier and able to take
advantage of their education and
contribute to the success of Nigeria."
Polio is caused by a highly infectious
virus that invades the nervous systemnthrough the mouth and can cause irreversible paralysis within a matter of
hours.
Among those paralysed, between five and 10 percent die when their breathing muscles fail to work.
Children under the
age of five are those most at risk.
Infection typically occurs through water that carries the virus.
There is no cure for the disease, but there are highly effective vaccines tobprevent it.
In 1988, polio was endemic in 125
countries, but by 2012, this was
reduced to three countries --
Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan.
AFP
Shameless leaders, it takes one man to help the whole of Nigeria to eradicate polio 1 man to a whole nation. They missmanage and steal the country dry then go beg for alms (which they steal again by the way) to feed and care for their people. Tommorow they will say oyinbo is a slave master and not better than their theiving shameless asses.
ReplyDeleteNigeria if well planned and managed can do a lot on her own.
Our leaders are like wicked step mothers who lock up the food in the house and when the step kids cry for help and get it, she takes it away from them again or gives them the left over after she and her kids have taken the choice parts