Maiduguri, 28 September 2016 - In response to the detection of wild polio viruses (WPV) in Borno in August 2016 after more than two years of maintaining a polio-free status, the government of Nigeria declared the outbreak as a national public health emergency. Equally, the governments of Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad and Niger declared a regional public health emergency for the Lake Chad sub-region.
Following the declaration in Nigeria, plans were made to involve the military and civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) in accessing children in very vulnerable areas.