LAGOS, Sept 8, 2006 (Xinhua via COMTEX)
- Nigeria has spent 30 million U.S. dollars on polio vaccine procurement since the beginning of this year, an official from Nigeria' National Program on Immunization ( NPI) said on Friday.
Edugie Abebe, interim national coordinator of the NPI told reporters in Kaduna, a leading commercial center in north Nigeria, that the move was "aimed at reducing the prevalence of poliomyelitis."
She said Nigeria's spending on polio vaccines increased by 50 percent this year from 2005 during which the country spent 20 million dollars.
Abebe explained that "the expenditure was necessary viewed against the fact that the backstage is being occupied by Nigeria in the global immunization program."
She said Nigeria, the most populous country in African with a population of over 140 million, was worse hit by poliomyelitis, recording more than 80 percent of the cases in the world.
The coordinator appealed to non-governmental organizations ( NGOs), religious bodies and the media to help sustain the NPI initiative.
She also appealed to mothers to ensure that their children were immunized.