The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has received the final report of the Nigeria Immunisation Leadership Challenge on governors’ commitment to polio eradication and identified seven states as the most achieving states in the fight against polio in the different geo-political zones of the country.
According to the report, one winner emerged from each of the six geo-political zones of the country.
They include in the North Central, Kogi; South West, Ondo; South South, Cross River; South East, Anambra; North East, Borno; North West, Zamfara, while Niger State emerged as the winner of the “most improved category.”
Also received by the NGF was the Peer Review Reports of Anambra and Ekiti states from the Steering Committee headed by Justice Muhammed Uwais (retd).
Chairman of the forum and governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, read the communiqué issued at the end of the governors’ meeting in Abuja on Wednesday night.
Two members of the independent judging panel of the Polio Challenge, Dr Oyewale Tomori of Redeemer’s University and Mr Shehu Sule, a retired Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health had earlier briefed the forum.
According to the panel, the scores of the leading states are Ondo – 91per cent, Cross River – 83 per cent, Kogi – 81 per cent, Anambra – 76 per cent, Borno – 72 per cent, Zamfara – 60 per cent and Niger – 58 per cent. Each of them is also to get $500,000 for the award.
Their report indicated that “four of the six top performing states in this category did not report any wild poliovirus cases in 2012. Although Borno State reported eight wild poliovirus cases in 2012, the state’s high level of performance despite facing significant security challenges in 2012 was particularly commendable.
“All of the highest performing states reported over 70% measles coverage in 2012 and many showed significant improvement over 2011 coverage rates. Commendable best practices were evident in the high performing states as well as in Imo, Jigawa, Katsina, Kano, Kebbi, Lagos and Ogun states.
“There were 122 cases of wild poliovirus reported in Nigeria in 2012, up from 62 in 2011 and just 21 in 2010. So far this year, 8 cases have been reported in Bauchi, Borno, Yobe, Nasarawa and the Federal Capital Territory,” the panel stated.
