The federal government has asked the World Bank to grant it a $125 million loan for provision of enough vaccines against the fresh outbreak of polio myelitis and other communicable disease, The government has released the N9.8billion budgeted for that purpose in the 2016 budget for the Ministry of Health.
Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewale stated that the requested loan became necessary given the high cost of anti-polio vaccines and those of other communicable diseases.
Adewale explained that $60 million out of the $125 million loan facility, would be used for vaccination against polio alone in six rounds while the remaining $65 million would be used for preventive vaccination against the outbreak of any other communicable disease.
“Since the polio vaccine is quite expensive, Nigeria plans on obtaining a $125m loan facility from world bank, $ 60m will go to polio while the remaining $65 million would be used for procurement of vaccines against possible outbreak of any other communicable disease. You should expect that the borrowing plan will come through you,” he said.
He noted that any case of polio is considered as an epidemic , which made the two recent cases in Borno i .e, Jere and Gwoza , to be considered as an emergency situation not only within the affected areas but in the entire country and countries bordering it around the place of outbreak.