An Open Letter from Sir (Dr.) Emeka Offor, Rotary International Polio Ambassador to Nigeria and Founder, Sir Emeka Offor Foundation

October 24, 2019

On behalf of Sir Emeka Offor Foundation and the Rotary family in Nigeria, I congratulate Nigeria as we celebrate the World Polio Day this 24th October, 2019.

The World Polio Day was established by Rotary International to commemorate the birth of Jonas Salk who led the first team to develop a vaccine against Poliomyelitis. This has become very significant in Nigeria because the scourge of Polio has been largely arrested through robust routine immunization, advocacy and supervision.

As we mark the day, we shall not forget that as a country, we are very close to being declared a Wild Polio Free country by the World Health Organization. The remaining milestone requires a lot of hard work, team collaboration and cooperation by all stakeholders in order to actualize the dream.

I wish to commend the Rotary International, World Health Organization, Nigerian Government and its Ministries, Departments and Agencies for the commitment, zeal they have put in so far. Similarly, all Health Workers, Volunteers, Rotarians and Supporters of this worthy course require special commendation.

We shall continue to pay special tribute to all International Partners including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for their generous interventions towards the eradication of polio in Nigeria.

Our Foundation shall continue to engage in sustainable ventures and endeavours that will drive the progress of this fight against Polio in all its ramifications.
Once again, congratulations Nigeria.

Immunization must continue, advocacy is imperative, we shall win!

Sir (Dr.) Emeka Offor
Rotary International Polio Ambassador to Nigeria
Founder, Sir Emeka Offor Foundation (SEOF)