Rivers State Deputy Governor, Dr. Mrs. Ipalibo Harry Banigo has expressed joy that Nigeria is now free from Poliomyelitis.
Dr. Banigo expressed this while playing host to the Rotary District 9141 Governor, at the Government House in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, 20th October, 2020.
Dr. Banigo said “today we are proud to declare that we are wild polio free and that we can now pay more attention to routine immunization and to develop the Primary Healthcare system which is the bottom of the Health system and the cornerstone of Healthcare delivery in Nigeria”.
Dr. Banigo who congratulated Rotary and the Polio plus Nigeria efforts in the fight to end polio in Nigeria and by extension Africa, noted that the country has been declared polio free on the 18th of June, 2020.
The Deputy Governor who expressed gratitude to Rotary Women said “I appreciate the role Rotary women played in ending polio.
Many of you are volunteers, you were advocates, you were fund raisers and you all came from different walks of life, different professions, and different levels of social lives with one voice that there should be no reason, for any child to fall victim of that devastating sickness called polio or to end up with paralysis as a result of poliomyelitis”. The Deputy Governor further stressed.
In her remarks Rotary District 9141 Governor, Virginia Major said a lot of emphasis has been placed on maternal and child health this year because statistics have shown that it has been a neglected part of their activities, adding that in assessing various clubs, the clubs that do more programmes in maternal and child health will be better reviewed and assessed.
According to the District Governor, the Covid-19 pandemic set back a lot of programmes earmarked for this year, she however said “we are doing our best to touch as many communities as possible as we speak a lot of our members are reaching out to many communities even the most rural communities to ensure that we achieve all the programmes we have on focus particularly disease prevention and education.”