President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday ordered increase tempo against polio virus in Nigeria.
He gave the directive while receiving polio high level advocacy team at the Council Chamber of the State House, Abuja.
Efforts, he said, should be doubled in order not to allow any gap that might prevent Nigeria being certified polio free by World Health Organization (WHO) by the year 2017.
Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the closed-door meeting, the Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Health, Linus Awute said: “As it is now there is no polio in our country but then we still need to monitor that throughout a period of two years.
“That is why we need to intensify routine immunization, ensuring that there is no leakage, no gap until 2017 when we shall be certified a polio free country having arrested the transmission for upward of one year plus.
“The president directed us to sustain the tempo that has led us thus far after 17 years and how to do that is clearly developed in the template upon which we are going to work in collaboration with the state governors,” he said.
According to him, there is need to interface and make further pronouncements that would boost the gains so far recorded in polio eradication in the country.
He added: “In doing that, the stakeholders are required and that is why a strong advocacy group, a high level advocacy group that happens to be the pillar and foundation of this tremendous effort was led down here to interface with President.
“We also needed that one to happen at the instance of the governors of the 11 states where polio before now was endemic.
“So, the gains of it, is that we have a consensus on what we must or must not do to be able to cherish the gains that we have made,” he stated