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….recommits to eradicate all polio variants
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has registered its discontent with the way and manner foreign donor agencies try to force their plans of action on the Agency not minding existing developed plans of work on any public health care interventions.
The Agency also complained that some of the donor agencies are not providing supports as they often declare, but rather pursuing their own interest that are, sometimes, outside the plans of the government.
Executive Director, NPHCDA, Dr. Faisal Shuaib, registered the concerns at the 39th meeting of the Expert Review Committee (ERC) on polio and routine immuniisation in Nigeria, in Abuja.
He appealed to donor agencies, local and international, to approach the Agency and align their interventions with what the Agency is doing to avoid duplicated efforts without improved result.
He acknowledged the efforts and contributions of all Nigerians and international partners over the years which culminated in Nigeria being declared Polio-free by WHO, but solicited for more support to achieve an end to all variants of polio in Nigeria.
He suggested harnonisation of all health related programmes and projects in the country so as to ensure judicious use of resources meant for the health sector.
He said: “I had discussion with one of our partners recently who are supposed to support government but that was not successful. In several instances, we found out that partners have their own agenda, their plans and they are following it. But in every opportunity, they would claim they are just there to support government, but from the way I see it, we know that it is not consistently true that our partners are supporting us in the way they work.
“I was discussing with one of our partners that we have gotten $500,000 to support our work. So, we decided that we are ready to use the resources in some states and the partner said they have already earmarked the fund for other states and other things. This is not collaboration. This is dictatorship. A real collaboration means that we should sit together and take decision based on the science.
“This is part of the problem that we have in this country. There is a lot of money that comes into Nigeria, domestic funding, partner and donor funding, but the result don’t match the funding.
“Let us be honest with ourselves. It is not necessary getting more money for health. How much health are we getting for the money that we have? So, as we roll out the plans to eradicate cVDPV2 in Nigeria, let us ensure the deployment of resources behind this national emergency plan.
“Donor agencies should know where government wants to go. If you are going to be working with government, follow the action plan. This is because the action plan was not developed by only government but in collaboration with donors and partners.”
Dr. Faisal, however, renewed the commitment of the Agency to eradicating all variants of polio outside the Wild Polio Virus that has already been eradicated and certified by the World Health Organization (WHO).
He noted that Nigeria was tired of being a country that is last in eradication of polio viruses, hence he charged all stakeholders to rise to the occasion.
His words: “I want to assure our partners that we are here for business. Some of the results you see in the last few months are not accidental. We are tired of being a country that is last to eradicate polio viruses. We are tied of being a country that is synonymous with poor performance.
“That is why you are seeing exceedingly great performances in our campaigns in the last few months. That is what we would continue to do. We must know that the first and most important way to eradicate polio is routine immunization.”
WHO Country Representative, Dr. Walter Kazadi Mulombo, who joined the meeting virtually, renewed the commitments of WHO and other key players in the vaccines sector to interrupt and maintain zero cases of the cVDPV2 polio strain in Nigeria.
Dr. Mulombo said: “As partners, I believe we achieved great success so far in polio eradication in Nigeria, and we are going to put all our effort in ensuring that we achieve more success. Reaching and sustaining zero cases of cVDV2 in Nigeria in 2023 is achievable, but would demand more efforts on our part.
“We would count on the validation of next steps by ERC members and participants to reach the finish line for cVDPV2 interruption in Nigeria in 2023.”
ERC Chairman, Dr. Akin Osibogum, in his remarks, noted that Nigeria has recorded a good success in eradication of Polio with the support of partners resulting in 85 per cent drop in incidences of cVDPV2 in Nigeria.
“The challenge for us right now is to harness all the available resources in achieving zero polio. That is our goal, and we would focus on the strategies, including strengthening routine immunization and the primary health care systems as well as improving on our surveillance capability.”
