UNICEF Donates Centre, Vehicles To Strengthen Polio Eradication In Kebbi
To accelerate the elimination of poliomyelitis, the United Nations Children’s Fund has given four trucks and a Polio Emergency Operation Center to Kebbi State Primary Health Care Development Agency.
Governor Nasir Idris, while applauding UNICEF for the gesture, promised to ensure its proper utilisation.
According to him, the virus seems to be resurfacing, hence the need for collective action to have it eradicated.
Idris, who was represented by the Head of Service, Safiyanu Garba-Bena, during the handover ceremony, said, “In fact, what I saw in the edifice baffles me, the facilities put in place are actually fantastic.
“We are giving our development partners the assurances that the edifice will work very well.”
The governor said he would ensure that all the vehicles are properly maintained, adding that trackers would be installed in them to monitor their movements to ensure that they are specifically used for the purpose intended.
The representative of UNICEF, Christiana Munduate, said the aim of the gesture was to save the lives of children by reducing the number of polio cases in the state.
She enjoined the state government to ensure judicious utilisation of the donated items for total eradication of the disease from Nigeria by 2024.
The Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Muyi Aina, pointed out that a sector-wide approach was one of the ways to implement health programmes in the country, adding that it is being championed by the coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali-Pate.
