The Sir Emeka Offor Foundation (SEOF) has pledged increased support for polio vaccination, training of health workers, and community education to sustain progress in polio eradication in Nigeria and across Africa.

The foundation said the global fight against polio would not be over until Afghanistan and Pakistan, the only two countries where the wild poliovirus remains endemic, are declared completely polio-free.

At an event in Abuja to mark World Polio Day, the Founder of SEOF and Rotary International Polio Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr Emeka Offor, reaffirmed the foundation’s commitment to supporting vaccination drives in hard-to-reach areas, strengthening cold-chain systems, and partnering with religious leaders to reach every home and end transmission.

Offor commended ongoing efforts to sustain Nigeria’s polio-free status and urged the government and partners not to relent in their mission to achieve global eradication.

“Across Africa and in Nigeria, the story of polio has changed. The wild poliovirus is gone from our soil, but our mission is not yet complete. Polio anywhere remains a threat to children everywhere. Until Afghanistan and Pakistan are polio-free, our work is not done,” he said.

He noted that decades of collaboration between Rotary International, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), governments, and local communities have transformed the once-impossible dream of a polio-free world into a near reality.

“At SEOF, we will not relent. We are supporting vaccination drives in hard-to-reach areas, strengthening cold chain systems, and partnering with community and religious leaders to reach every home and every heart. Let us keep going until we consign polio to history forever,” he added.

The District Governor of Rotary District 9127, Dr Joy Okoro, described 2025 as a crucial year in Rotary’s decades-long campaign to eradicate polio.
“We are creating awareness and urging everyone to be involved so that we can totally end polio on the surface of the earth. Parents must ensure their children are vaccinated from birth to five years. Polio has caused so much devastation; no child should suffer such deformity again,” she said.

Okoro commended the Federal Government and development partners for maintaining strong immunisation campaigns and surveillance systems, which led to Nigeria’s certification as polio-free five years ago. However, she warned that insecurity and misinformation continue to hinder eradication efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Chief of Staff to Sir Emeka Offor, AIG Chris Ezike (rtd), underscored the importance of continuous funding and community advocacy, noting that governments alone cannot finance the global campaign.

He explained that SEOF’s interventions focus on three pillars—health, education, and empowerment, with polio eradication forming the cornerstone of its health programmes.

“The world is not free if we are not free from polio. Vaccine-derived poliovirus still poses a risk, and funding is required. Governments alone cannot do it; NGOs must continue to fund advocacy and routine immunisation,” he said.

The District Polio Chair for Rotary District 9127, Dr Kadijat Yusuf, emphasised that although Africa and Nigeria remain polio-free, the existence of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV) calls for sustained vigilance.

“It is not over until it is over. Until Afghanistan and Pakistan are polio-free, every child is still at risk. As long as a single child remains infected anywhere, all children are vulnerable,” Yusuf said.

She explained that polio, a viral disease transmitted through poor hygiene and contaminated water, once paralysed over 350,000 children worldwide, but global vaccination efforts have reduced cases by 99.9 per cent.

The President of the Rotary Club of Abuja Metro, Frederick Odika, reaffirmed Rotary’s commitment to continuous advocacy and public sensitisation to ensure that the virus never returns to Nigeria.

“Any child infected with polio poses a risk to every other child anywhere in the world. We will continue our advocacy and awareness campaigns to keep Nigeria and Africa polio-free,” he said.