WHO’s biennial budget just revealed its sacrosanct interest in Nigeria for 2018 and 2019. It really wants to end polio.
This week, Nigeria’s health minister, Prof. Isaac Adewole and WHO Country Representative for Nigeria, Dr. Wondi Alemu, signed the global health body’s biennium budget for Nigeria where it was revealed that that the World Health Organization has approved the sum of 178 million US dollars in support of Nigeria health sector.
According to a statement by the Nigerian health ministry that was gotten by HealthNews.NG, the amount covers the WHO’s budgeted work plan and activities under the country’s office selected output for 2018 to 2019.
According to the budget, $127 million was earmarked for Polio eradication, $30 million was allocated to communicable diseases such as Malaria, TB and Neglected tropical Diseases. $4 million went to Non-communicable diseases while $8.5 million was for maternal and child health.
In his remark, Adewole said that about 66 per cent of the approved amount would be committed to Polio eradication which was quite significant. He stressed that the funds would also go a long way in helping the country maintain surveillance on the virus until the country is eventually certified a polio-free country.
“What is also of interest is that quite a lot of these resources would go into communicable diseases and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD’s). We will also ensure that part of the money is used to improve maternal and child health” Adewole informed.
He thanked the WHO for her long standing support for the Nigerian health sector. According to him, the joint approval initiative was an attestation to the unwavering commitment and support by WHO which would help in strengthening the health system in Nigeria.
Earlier, Dr. Alemu explained that revitalization of Nigeria’s primary healthcare centers and emergency services would also benefit from the budget.
He said that there would be consultative meetings among partners and stakeholders to ensure effective implementation of the budget.
Nigeria’s polio burden
For over 20 years, Nigeria with the aid of partners had been seeking to end polio all to no avail. To be certified polio-free, Nigeria must maintain zero case status, strengthen surveillance system, improve routine immunisation and maintain high quality campaigns. The road to eradication of polio is hinged more on improved vaccine coverage and supplementary immunisation.
Last year, Nigeria reported no cases of polio suggesting that the country is nearing the end of the disease caused by the Wild Polio Virus resulting in a vaccine-preventable disease that had paralysed several thousands of children in Nigeria.
It is worthy to note that Nigeria is the only country in Africa that is not yet polio-free and just one of the three countries across the world with the viral infection. Others are Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In September 2015, the World Health organisation removed Nigeria from the list of polio endemic countries, however, polio made a return to the country in and efforts have since been on to get the eradication campaign back on track. But for that setback, the nation would have been certified by the World Health Organisation, WHO, as a polio-free country in 2017.
Throwing its full weight behind Nigeria’s fight against polio is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which said the eradication of polio in Nigeria will be its greatest achievement.
This year, it was revealed that the Gates Foundation will pay off Nigeria’s $76 million polio debt. The payments, which will be made over the course of 20 years, are due to begin this year..
Another partner is Rotary International which last year announced $49.5 million in grants to support immunisation and surveillance activities led by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Nigeria obtained $7.71 million of the grant to support efforts to end polio in the remaining countries where polio remains endemic. Afghanistan received $9.32 million while Pakistan got $8.94 million.
Further funding supported efforts to keep six vulnerable countries polio-free: Chad ($2.37 million), the Democratic Republic of Congo ($4.5 million), Guinea ($961,000), Somalia ($1.62 million), South Sudan ($3.77 million), and Sudan ($2.56 million).
An additional $7.74 million went toward surveillance activities in Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean region.
“Rotary and its partners are closer than ever to eradicating polio,” says Michael K. McGovern, chair of Rotary’s International PolioPlus Committee, which leads the organization’s polio eradication efforts.
Following the detection of wild poliovirus in northern Nigeria in 2016 for the first time in two years, Nigeria and neighbouring countries in the Lake Chad Basin (Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad and Niger) have held multiple vaccination campaigns to raise population immunity and prevent spread of the virus. Activities in the area continue to focus on reaching every child with vaccines, especially in identifying and vaccinating missed children and closing immunity gaps in populations that have previously been inaccessible.
“Countries are also working to increase surveillance efforts. A range of innovative strategies are being used to reach children in high-risk areas, including opportunistic campaigns that are run whenever security permits, market vaccination, cross-border points and outreach to nomads,” the Polio Global Eradication Program stated.
The race to 2019
The WHO budget focus is coinciding with Nigeria’s target to be declared polio-free in 2019. The polio-free certification which would have come in 2017, was stopped by cases identified at Internally Displaced Peoples(IDPs) camp in the North-Eastern region of the country in 2016, which extended the country’s window period to 2019.
If polio is completely eradicated, it will be the fourth disease to be beaten in this way, after smallpox, guinea worm and rinderpest. WHO had hoped to achieve global eradication of polio by 2018.
With the two cases found in North-East of Nigeria, the countries window period was extended from the day those two cases were detected in August 20i6 for another compulsory three years of window period which means Nigeria’s zero polio case status certification will now be in 2019 if no more incidences of polio is recorded.
Asked if the measure was not harsh on Nigeria, Consultant Physician/Cardiologist and Chairman, Polio plus Committee, Rotary International, Dr Tunji Funsho, said the race is not against time, but against polio.
“The race is not against time, but against polio. If the WHO certifies Nigeria polio-free and two months later we find polio in Nigeria, that will not be the idea. We want every child in Nigeria to be polio-free, that is the goal. No matter how long it will take us to eradicate polio in Nigeria, we will be patient. It is not a thing of ego but that Nigeria is actually polio-free.
“The two cases in the North-East, did not discourage us, rather it was a call for action. The government, Rotary and all the partners will concentrate efforts in that region and ensure that every child in Nigeria is free from polio. The vaccines will be available, immunisation taken to the Internally Displaced Persons camps(IDPs) to ensure every child in the region receives immunisation. “
Dr Matshidiso Moeti, Regional Director, World Health Organisation AFRO, commended the Federal Government for its prompt response and declaration of Public Health Emergency in Borno over the polio outbreak. Moeti noted the openness of the government in the overall handling of the process that led to the discovery of the two cases.
She commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his directive to the relevant government agency to release money budgeted for vaccines. Moeti said that the government’s posture was a great motivation for WHO and other polio eradication partners to support the country.
She reiterated the commitment of WHO and other partners to work with Nigeria to address the problem of polio resurgence in Nigeria.
“With concerted effort, Nigeria will soon attain the zero polio case status,” she said.