Abuja, 20 June 2017 - In an effort to support the eradication of polio in Nigeria, the German Government through the KfW has signed a grant of ten (10) million euros to support the activities and sustain the gains of polio eradication programme in the country.  The grant which will be released through the German Development Bank, KfW, will make available seven (7) million euros through WHO and three (3) million euro through UNICEF for polio operations costs.

At the signing ceremony, led by the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, and the German Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Bernhard Schlagheck, the Minister disclosed that the “grant we signed today (20th June 2017) will go a long way in ensuring that efforts to eradicate polio in Nigeria are achieved.  We were close to making history last year until when some new polio cases cropped up in the insecure and inaccessible areas of Borno state. With this grant, we will continue to conduct activities that reach children with vaccine to prevent any spread of the virus and  to achieve poliovirus interruption”.

In his remarks at the signing ceremony, German Ambassador to Nigeria Mr Schlagheck stated that his government has been engaging with the Government of Nigeria in the area of polio eradication for a long time. “Past agreements signed with the Government of Nigeria supporting polio eradication have amounted to over 110 million euros. We are committed to supporting Nigeria achieve a polio free world”.

The German grant funding will support the National Polio Eradication Emergency Plan activities, which include:  reaching children under five years old with oral polio vaccine through high quality SIAs; vaccinating children in recently accessible and inaccessible areas; and cross border immunisation activities among others.

In August 2016, wild poliovirus (WPV) was detected in Borno state following the liberation of previously inaccessible areas. Following the notification of the WPV outbreak, the Government of Nigeria led by the Honourable Minister of Heath, through the national Polio Emergency Operations Centre, mounted an aggressive outbreak response to vaccinate children with special innovations in the insecure areas.  

Reacting to the signage of the agreement, the WHO Representative for Nigeria, Dr. Wondimagegnehu Alemu, expressed his gratitude to the Government of Germany for its longstanding commitment to the polio programme in Nigeria which has been essential in the progress towards Nigeria’s goal of reaching “Polio Free” status and contributes to the certification of the African Region.  WHO’s Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) Team Lead, Dr Fiona Braka, also stated that the grant will go long a way in supporting critical polio eradication activities planned to ensure that adequate population immunity is boosted particularly in high risk areas. 

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