ABUJA, Nigeria – Bill Gates, the co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has announced that his foundation will commit $7 billion over the next four years to support routine immunization in Nigeria and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in Northern Nigeria.
The announcement was made at a meeting with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum at the Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday, June 22, 2023.
The meeting was also attended by the business mogul, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who highlighted that he and Bill Gates have been partnering with the federal and state governments in Nigeria for several years to support efforts in eradicating polio and improving routine immunization, nutrition, and primary healthcare.
Gates emphasized the importance of the decisions that the National Economic Council (NEC) will make in the next four years, stating that they will play a significant role in determining Nigeria’s economic growth, citizen satisfaction, and the achievement of sustainable development goals.
The chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Abdulraman Abdulrasaq, along with other governors, praised the philanthropic efforts of the Dangote and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations in healthcare, education, agriculture, and human capital development.
They expressed their readiness to collaborate with the foundations in the coming years.
Vice President Kashim Shettima acknowledged the challenges faced by Nigeria in the area of polio and noted that there has been an improvement in vaccine coverage from 33% in 2016 to 57% in 2021.
He stated that the variant polio virus declined by 84% from 2021 to 2022, with fewer than 200 cases reported.
Shettima gave assurances that the federal and state governments are working on a transparent process to address the country’s status as having one of the highest proportions of non-immunized infants globally.
He stated that the government is committed to eradicating the variant poliovirus by the end of the year and ensuring that every Nigerian child is covered in routine immunization campaigns.
