Sir Emeka Offor Foundation

WHO Declares Nigeria Polio Free

World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared Nigeria free of wild polio, following the completion of documentation for the free status.
Sir Emeka Offor Foundation committed over four millions of dollars towards eradication of polio in Nigeria. The Foundation commends all the stake holders involved in the successful eradication of this debilitating disease from our country. The Federal Government of Nigeria, Health workers, Volunteers, sponsors like Sir Emeka Offor Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other Foundations are the heroes for this moment.
This celebration does not mean we should let our guard down but continue to follow World Health Organization’s directives in maintaining our present status. Bill and Melinda Gates foundation commits double of any amount of money donated to Rotary international for Polio eradication which has seen Sir Emeka Offor Foundation’s donations Rotary International for the eradication of polio tripled. Rotary International has really worked very hard in the area of raising funds, public sensitization, surveillance, reporting and partnership with governments, individuals and foundations all over the world including Sir Emeka Offor Foundation.
On 21st August 2019, Nigeria marked three years without any case of wild Poliovirus. The declaration of Nigeria as Polio Free means that Nigeria has so far gone beyond three years without any child being paralyzed by the wild polio virus. In a meeting in 2019 with Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), Ambassador Andrew J. Young (Former US Ambassador to the UN) who was visiting Sir Emeka Offor Foundation shared the United States success story in eradicating Polio while also commending Nigeria in their effort.
Sir (Dr) Emeka Offor was very elated at the news of certification of Nigeria as polio free nation. Nigeria for years has remained the only polio endemic nation in Africa and one of the three countries in the world alongside Pakistan and Afghanistan. “I am happy that all our efforts in eradicating polio did not go in vain and this shows that we can achieve much greater things together’ Sir Dr. Emeka offor said today at the foundation’s headquarters in Abuja. Since 2013 Sir Emeka Offor Foundation committed the first one million dollars to end Polio, a lot have been achieved and many children’s lives have been saved and today Nigeria is totally free from wild polio virus.

Obi Ebuka Onochie