Date: 2019-10-05

Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq yesterday inaugurated the State Task Force on immunisation and primary healthcare, saying the exercise forms a part of his administration's efforts to stamp out polio and strengthen access to primary healthcare.

"The role of the Task Force amongst others is to coordinate/supervise all Polio Eradication Initiatives (PEI) activities in particular and Primary Health Care in general in line with recommendations from the State Technical Team," he said in an address inaugurating the Task Force headed by Deputy Governor, Kayode Alabi, urging members of the Task Force to work closely with Alabi to deliver quality primary healthcare to the people.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Rhoda Ajiboye, said the inauguration was in line with the Abuja Commitment by all the state governments to support polio eradication and routine immunisation in the country. AbdulRazaq had recently paid counterpart funds to strengthen polio immunisation in the state following the outbreak in January of some vaccine-derived polio cases. He had also recently paid counterpart funds to facilitate free malaria treatment, nutrition, and other basic healthcare services.

Membership of the Task Force include the Deputy Governor (Chairman); Chairman House Committee on Health; Representative of the Wife of the Governor; Representative of the Ministry of Health; Representative of the Ministry of Finance; Representative of the Ministry of Information; Representative of the Ministry of Environment; Executive Secretary of the State Primary Health Care Development Agency (SPHCDA); Directors of the SPHCDA; State Immunisation Officer; Chairman of Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON); Representative of Ministry of Women Affairs amongst others.