Rotary Spends $1.56bn On Polio

Rotary International has said that, the eradication of polio in Nigeria and the rest of Africa will continue to remain its top priority.
Rotary International Director, Brad Howard, who said this a press briefing as part of activities for the on-going 11th West Africa project fair in Port Harcourt, also said that the Rotary Foundation has spent over $1.5 billion over the years to check the spread of polio across the world.
Howard said that, the polio plus immunization programme currently on-going across the country, also check the spread of tuberculosis, measles and other diseases.
Also speaking, Chairman, Nigeria national Polio eradication committees, Rotarian Tunji Funsho, said that the club has continued the recent outbreak of polio in Nigeria North East State of Borno.
Funsho told the media that new cases of polio were reported in that part of the country because of the activities of Boko Haram, adding that, the quick intervention of the club has caged the virus from spreading beyond the two local government areas where it was reported.
He also said that, over 35 million children under the age of five have been immunized over the years, stressing that apart from the polio eradication programme Rotary was also involved in the provision of water and sanitation facilities in communities across the country.
On his part, Chairman of West Africa project fair , Rotarian Deinde Shoga, said that, the fair which is the 11th in the series, will enable the various rotary clubs across the West African sub-region, to show case its various projects and their impacts on local communities.
Shoga noted that the fair will create opportunities for International partners to indicate interest in projects which they may wish to sponsor.
Also speaking, the District Governor, District 9140, Enebom Akabong, said that the District which was hosting the fair has intervened in several areas of humanitarian activities.
Akabong also said that District 9140 will cease to exist from next year as it would be split into two new Districts.
The event was attended by the former Deputy Governor of Rivers State, G.T.G. Toby, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Acting managing Director, Mrs Ibim Semenitari, and a host of other guests from across the West Africa subregion, East Africa and the United States of America.