Nigeria National Polio Plus Committee (NNPPC) under Rotary International has honoured 107 local community volunteers and primary health care workers in recognition of their commitment and sense of duty in the discharge of polio eradication services. Speaking during the awards ceremony, yesterday in Abuja, the chairman, NNPPC, Dr. Tunji Funsho, said the award “is not only to reward but to motivate the grassroots workers.”
He said frontline workers including: vaccinators; ward focal persons; team supervisors; field volunteers; Local Immunisation Officers (LIOs); Disease Surveillance and Notification Officers (DSNOs); Volunteer Community Mobilisers (VCMs); town announcers; community and religious leaders among others; are the foot soldiers of Polio Eradication Initiative, working at the local government areas and ward levels.
In his remarks, the District Governor, Rotary District 9125, Engr. Nnoka Mbanefo, noted that many frontline workers had lost their lives fighting for the cause of polio eradication in the country. He said “the work of Rotarians is very important in the polio eradication efforts,” adding that “the statistics we have this year shows that we have improved.” On his part, the Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, acknowledged the “key role of Rotary International in Nigeria,” saying the organisation initiated the fight against polio “in Nigeria since 1988.” The executive director, who was represented by Incidence Manager, Polio Emergency Centre, Dr Usman Adamu, said Rotary International’s initiative of rewarding frontline workers is in line with NPHCDA’s vision and enjoined recipients to see the award as a call to higher duties. Speaking to journalists, one of the recipients, Asmau Namakka, a polio survivor, called on parents to avail their children of the polio vaccine.
