(Quick News Africa)- The government of Germany and the Nigerian government on Tuesday signed an aid agreement that will see Germany provide a grant of €10 million to help Nigeria eradicate polio from its shores.
The agreement was signed on behalf of both governments in Abuja, where Geoffrey Onyeama, the minister foreign affairs, signed on behalf of Nigeria, while Bernhard Schlagheck, the German ambassador to Nigeria, signed on behalf of the government of Germany.
Onyeama said that the €10 million grant would facilitate Nigeria’s quest to totally eradicate polio, but also lamented that government efforts have suffered setbacks due to terrorism in the north eastern part of the country.
“I just have to take this opportunity to express our profound gratitude to the government of Germany for this support. As you know we have come very close to eradicating polio in the world, but there are some issues and the problem we have in the north east has exacerbate the situation and made it more difficult to eradicate,” said the minister.
Schlagheck expressed optimism that the grant would go a long way in achieving the desired goal, saying “we have engaged with the government of Nigeria for some time mostly under the assistance of the WHO and we want to continue with our engagement.”
The ceremony was witnessed by representatives of National Primary Health Care Development Agency (PHCDA).
Iyabo Dara, the Director of Logistics, PHCDA, remarked that Nigeria would soon be declared polio free.
“I think in the next two to three years we should be polio free because we are spending almost one year now without any case of polio again,” she said.
