Fashola tasks Nigerians on polio eradication

Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola on Monday called for concerted efforts to delist Nigeria from the four polio ridden-countries in the world.Fashola, at the inauguration of a task force on Polio Eradication, Initiative/ Routine Immunisation, urged cooperation as citizens of the country moved from state to state and as such no state could rest on its oars in the fight against polio.He said the government was working on a cross border advocacy immunisation with neighbouring Ogun State to totally wipe out polio. According to him, the states efforts at combating the spread of the disease can achieve the desired success if collaborative efforts are intensified.He said, In the last one year, 44 cases of polio were recorded in the country. This signals to us that we can no longer rest on our oars. We must redouble our effort to ensure that as people move freely to and from states, no state government effort is rendered useless by polio virus.He was optimistic that the approach would increase the success of polio eradication. I believe that this cross border initiative will spread across the country so that by 2015 Nigeria will be polio free. I am very confidence that if we put all our resources together, we can deliver a polio free Nigeria in a short time.We have to get out of this umbilical cord that binds us with Pakistan, Afghanistan and India. We will ensure that whatever we achieve will not be thwarted by migration, Fashola said.The governor urged the task force to ensure that the state maintained its record of zero polio cases and also prevent the spread of the scourge through neighbouring states.He urged members to strengthen the structures for community mobilisation and utilise all avenues for polio immunisation.The Committee is jointly headed by the Commissioner for Health, Jide Idris, his Local Government and Chieftaincy affairs counterpart, Lanre Kuye and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Health, Yewande Adesina.Other members include, Commissioner for Environment Tunji Bello, his transport counterpart, Kayode Opeifa and Commissioner for Rural Development, Cornelius Ojelabi among others.
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