UK spent N867.3b to end polio in Nigeria - British High Commission

The United Kingdom on Wednesday, August 26, 2020 said that it invested £1.7 billion (N867.3 billion) since 1995 to help end the wild polio virus in Nigeria.

The World Health Organisation on Tuesday at a virtual session of the 70th Regional Committee announced that Africa was free of polio.

The Senior Press and Public Affairs Officer of British High Commission, Mr Christopher Ogunmodede, stated that the UK played a major role in Nigeria’s journey to become polio-free.

He stated: “The UK is the second largest governmental donor in Nigeria after the US Government in the continuing fight against infectious diseases such as polio.

“As a longstanding supporter of the polio programme, the UK has invested £1.7 billion to help end polio since 1995. Our most recent pledge was of £400 million in 2019, which will help to vaccinate 400 million children a year against the disease in the period 2020-2023.

“While our funding to GPEI at a global level is unrestricted, we estimate that in the last decade WHO Nigeria received the equivalent of US $155.5 million (£120 million) of UK’s contribution to support various GPEI projects in the country, with an estimated contribution of $10.2 million just for 2020.”

The UK said it remained the second largest governmental donor in Nigeria after the United States Government in the continued fight against infectious diseases.