Dangote And Bill Gates reward Zamfara State with $1m over zero-case polio

Bill and Melinda Gates and Dangote Foundations have rewarded Nigeria’s Zamfara state with $1million for maintaining ‘zero-case’ in polio for two years (2013 and 2014).

Dr Adesina Aladeshawe, the foundations’ representative, who is also the head of Solina Group in the state, disclosed this on Tuesday at a meeting with the state’s Routine Immunisation Working Group.

Aladeshawe said each of the two foundations had donated 500, 000 dollars in line with their earlier pledge to provide financial support to any state that maintained zero case on polio for two consecutive years.

He expressed the two foundations’ happiness and commendations over the joint efforts of the state and development partners; especially UNICEF, on routine immunisation in the state.
The foundations’ representative noted that their efforts had strengthened the exercise in the state.
He said the funds would be used in the procurement of solar powered refrigerators for the remaining 84 political wards of the state.

According to him, only 63 out of the 147 wards have such facility, which is very vital in maintaining the potency of immunisation vaccines.

Similarly, he said, part of the fund would also be channeled to the construction of two satellite cold-chain rooms in the other two senatorial zones of Talata-Mafara and Kaura-Namoda, so as to decentralise cold-chain infrastructure in the state.

Acknowledging the donations, the Permanent secretary of the state Ministry of Health, Dr Lawal Bungudu, expressed the state government’s happiness.

He said that the gesture would further boost the state government’s efforts in adequately tackling the fight against all child-killer diseases, particularly polio.

Bungudu, therefore, thanked all development partners that supported the state in achieving the feat with particular acknowledgement to UNICEF, WHO, Save the Children and the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), Abuja.