2015 – Year of freedom from Polio in Nigeria

The Minister of Health, Dr. Halliru Alhassan, on Thursday said Nigeria would be certified polio-free this month.

Alhassan disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Sokoto, while reviewing some of the activities of his ministry in 2014.

According to him, no case of polio had been recorded in the country in the last six months, and this qualifies the country to be declared polio-free in line with global requirements.

“This is because only six cases of the wild polio virus were recorded in the last six months in Kano and Jigawa states.

“This feat is a remarkable departure from the nearly 52 WPV cases the country recorded during the same period under review in 2013.

“With this happy development, we are optimistic that Nigeria will be completing the six months required to be declared polio-free by this month.”

“The country has indeed made tremendous progress in ensuring the total eradication of polio and it would be sustained.

“The federal government would sustain these successes; we have eradicated Ebola and Guinea worm, and polio is on the verge of becoming history in Nigeria,” Alhassan added.

He further expressed happiness that the nation was recording massive reduction in maternal mortality through the support of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).