German govt commits Euros 160million on Polio Eradication
The German government has again committed Euros 120 million to combat the scourge of polio all over the country.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs further added that Germany is committing additional Euros10 million and later Euros 29.9 million for the same purpose.
This was disclosed on Wednesday in Abuja by Dr. Tope Ade Elias-Fatilethe Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during a media briefing.
He said that Nigeria and Germany recently signed three bilateral agreement on technical and financial corporation and also another agreement on how to aid Nigeria in combatting poliomyelitis which has deformed several Nigerian Children.
Disclosing the details of the Nigeria-Germany agreement, he said,
“They are government agreement on technical cooperation in 2016.
“Government agreement on Financial Corporation in 2016.
“Financial and government agreement in respect of polio eradication.
“German government committed the sum of Euros 120 million in ensuring total eradication of polio in Nigeria.
“In addition to that, a new polio agreement that was signed involved a financial commitment of Euros 10 million, which will increase to Euros 29.9 million by German government in line with the agreement” he disclosed.
You may wish to note that Polio (poliomyelitis) mainly affects children under 5 years of age.
According to world Health Organization (WHO), “1 in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis. Among those paralysed, 5% to 10% die when their breathing muscles become immobilized”.
The World also reported that Polio cases have decreased by over 99% since 1988, from an estimated 350 000 cases then, to 37 reported cases in 2016 as a result of the global effort to eradicate the disease, more than 16 million people have been saved from paralysis.
It stated that as long as a single child remains infected, children in all countries are at risk of contracting polio. Failure to eradicate polio from these last remaining strongholds could result in as many as 200 000 new cases every year, within 10 years, all over the world.
Myke Uzendu, Abuja
