Bill Gates, founder of the software giant Microsoft met on Monday (7/6/2010) with members of the Nigeria Governors Forum, business and community leaders in connection with the polio eradication program funded by his foundation – The Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation.
While addressing the press, Mr. Bill Gates stated that his foundation had spent about $750 million on polio eradication in Nigeria. He called on stakeholders in the polio eradication campaign to ensure its gains were not reversed. He also mentioned that his foundation would commit enormous resources to the ongoing research efforts to develop a malaria vaccine.
Briefing members of the media after a meeting of the Nigeria Governors Forum, its chairman, Dr. Bukola Saraki said the tremendous achievement recorded by many states in the area of polio eradication had not gone unnoticed by the forum. He said that the governors were particularly happy that the reported cases of polio had dropped from 250 to 3 in the last one year.
The NGF on Monday also resolved to set up a panel of professionals and consultants to to look into the causes of the mass failure of students in the 2009 NECO examinations.
Earlier over the weekend in a media chat, Dr. Bukola Saraki had told members of the press stated that though the concerns of the NGF were not primary political, the media had not been covering the work of the NGF in areas such as health, education, crisis resolution within the states, and promotion of good governance. He assured the public that the NGF would as responsible key stakeholders continue to play their role in ensuring sustainable democracy and stabilizing the polity.
August 29, 2009, 06:43:32 AM