Polio Control Programme XI

completed

In Nigeria, extensive investments have already been made in the eradication of polio as part of the global polio eradication initiative, so that no new cases of polio caused by wild polio virus have occurred in the country since August 2016. However, rapid population growth, the inadequate coverage of routine immunization in some areas and the precarious security situation in the north-east of the country represent risks that could favor a re-emergence of the wild polio virus. The current content basis of the FC program phases is the Nigeria Polio Eradication Emergency Plan (NPEEP) developed and continuously updated by the Nigerian government in cooperation with WHO and UNICEF. The FC funds for program phase XI will be used, as in the previous phases, to finance operational costs in implementing the NPEEP. This includes the implementation and preparation of special vaccination campaigns, monitoring measures, technical support, communication measures and transition activities to transform the emergency plan into routine programs. In addition, the procurement of vaccines, medical supplies and equipment can also be financed if required. The target group is all children under five years of age in Nigeria, and in particular the previously unreached and underserved children in the high-risk states and the Nigerian islands in the Lake Chad Basin. The funds will be used by WHO and UNICEF in coordination with the Nigerian executing agency, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), to implement the NPEEP 2020 (and its sequels). The EUR 5 million increase is intended in particular to finance operational costs for the implementation of surveillance measures and technical support services by the WHO, which are carried out in favor of COVID-10 containment within the framework of the polio network.