Rotary hands Nigeria $8.1m in final push to eradicate polio

Rotary International has announced an $8.1 million grant to help Nigeria in its final push to eradicate polio disease within its borders.

The funds will be used by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF to support polio immunisation campaigns, research and surveillance in the country.

In addition to the $8.1 million in funds for Nigeria, Rotary has also committed $18.5 million to be divided among an additional seven countries in Africa. The grants include $1.6 million, Cameroon; $2.5 million, Chad; $3.3 million, Democratic Republic of Congo; $1.1 million, Ethiopia; $250,000, Kenya; $2.8 million, Niger; and $7 million, Somalia.

“Nigeria has managed an incredible feat,” said Tunji Funsho, Rotary’s national polioplus chair for Nigeria. “Our country has gone six months without a new case of the disease. However, now we must be more vigilant than ever, as our progress is fragile.”

“Nigeria has made incredible progress against polio this past year and I’m proud to see our country reduce cases by nearly 90% in 2014,” said Funke Akindele, Nollywood actress and Rotary polio ambassador. “With funds from Rotary, the continued support of Rotarians in Nigeria and around the world, I believe there will be a day when no child in Nigeria will be at risk of this disease.”

Commitment from all levels of the Nigerian government to ending the paralysing disease has proved crucial to the country’s recent progress. Experts urge political leaders to maintain this focus, even amidst Nigeria’s upcoming national elections next month.   

Read also: Polio eradication: UNICEF seeks media ‎support on 2017 certification

BusinessDay findings reveal that outside of Africa, Rotary also announced grants of $1.1 million for Pakistan and $6.7 million for Afghanistan. Together with Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan are the two other countries in the world where polio has never been stopped.

To date, Rotary has contributed more than $1.3 billion to fight polio. Through 2018, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will match two-to-one every dollar Rotary commits to polio eradication (up to $35 million a year). In 2014, there were only 350 confirmed polio cases in the world, down from about 350,000 a year when the initiative launched in 1988.

Nigeria has marked six months without a new case of polio. The country’s total WPV1 case count for 2014 remains six, compared to 53 in 2013. The most recent case had onset of paralysis on July 24, 2014 in Sumaila Local Government Area of southern Kano State. Over five months have passed since the last case of WPV1 was reported in Nigeria and no new type 2 circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV2) case has been reported.

This most recent case had onset of paralysis on November 16 in Barde district of Yobe State. However, Subnational Immunisation Days (SNIDs) are planned for January 24 – 28, 2015 in the North, using bivalent oral polio vaccine and nationwide on March 14 – 18, 2015 using trivalent oral polio vaccine.

Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges, connecting 1.2 million members of more than 34,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas.

Their work improves lives at both the local and international levels, from helping families in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world.