Abuja, 11 February, 2015 - The 31st session of the Expert Review Committee (ERC) on Polio Eradication and Routine immunization (ERC), warns that the perception of a “job done” coupled with risks of waning political commitment and accountability at each level, funding gaps and delays, access to children in North-East and pockets of low population immunity, could be bottlenecks to achieving certification in 2017.

The summary of the experts’ feedback was contained in a presentation by Dr Salla Mbaye, of the WHO Regional Office for Africa, after meeting with government officials, partners and other stakeholders in Abuja from 9-10 February, 2016 to review progress in polio eradication in Nigeria.

The ERC appreciated the unprecedented achievement which led to the removal of Nigeria from the list of polio endemic countries and attributed the success so far to high political commitment, impactful innovations and the indispensable effort of frontline workers performance under some instances of very challenging conditions, particularly in North-East and North-West of the country. The ERC further acknowledged the continued improvement in AFP surveillance sensitivity.

Notwithstanding the progress made, the experts cautioned that “Nigeria must sustain the gains, maintain momentum, and be prepared to mitigate the programme risks to avoid resurgence of polio in the country”.

To achieve results, the ERC made crucial recommendations around major thematic areas.

On sustaining political and traditional leaders’ commitment, the ERC recommended that the “Presidential Task Force be convened immediately with established dates for the remainder of the year”. The ERC also noted the importance of timely availability of financing by the Federal Government of Nigeria, including counterpart funding at LGA level, as well as pledged funding from donors.

In order to reach chronically missed children, the experts recommended the continued close analysis of reasons for missed children and under-performance focusing on the 11 high risk states, with a view  to  addressing   operational gaps and reaching more children in inaccessible areas of Borno and Yobe. Close monitoring of population movements due to displacement following conflicts and droughts, was additionally recommended. 

The country also was advised to ensure that the implementation of the global switch from tOPV to bOPV, scheduled for 18 April 2016, is well executed and that the stocks of tOPV are well monitored and utilized prior to the switch to avoid excessive wastage after the exercise.

Dr Rui Gama Vaz, the WHO Country Representative in Nigeria, appreciated the guidance of the ERC and noted the need to consider prioritization of key areas to focus on for attaining certification to be highlighted in the final report of the Committee. According to Dr Vaz, “remaining focused at this time of polio eradication will eliminate complacency and staying on track to the finish line”.

Dr Vaz assured the ERC that WHO and other partners will continue to support the implementation of recommendations and on-going efforts towards strengthening health systems in Nigeria.

Responding at the end of the deliberations, the Executive Director, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Ado Muhammed assured the ERC, GPEI partners and donors of the government’s commitment to implementation of the recommendations. He further assured the meeting that the government will fulfill its financial commitment of $80 million to the polio programme for 2016.

On Legacy planning, the ED announced that the process will be prioritized at the highest level of the Ministry of Health and affirmed government’s position on investing on the polio structure for the speedy realization of Nigeria’s plan on delivering primary health care.

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For more information, please contact:

Technical contacts:

Dr Fiona Braka; Tel: +234 703 170 5252; Email: brakaf [at] who.int
Media contact:

Ms  Charity Warigon; Tel: +234 810 221 0093; Email: warigonc [at] who.int

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Below:

01. ERC members

02. Dr Salla Mbaya presenting the immediate recommendations of the 31st ERC