World Bank approves credit of US$95 million for the Nigeria Polio Eradication Support Project

   The World Bank’s Board approved an International Development Association (IDA) credit of US$95 million for the Nigeria Polio Eradication Support Project, which will “help the country to achieve and sustain at least 80% polio immunization across all states, supporting the eventual eradication of the disease from Nigeria.” The project will finance roughly 655 million doses of oral polio vaccine for children under age five across Nigeria, with a special focus on the northern states where polio is more prevalent. The World Bank has worked with Nigeria’s National Primary Health Care Agency since 2003 to ensure timely vaccine supply. The project continues a “buy-down” arrangement by which the Gates Foundation, the US Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, and Rotary International (via the UN Foundation), will repay the loan’s present value when pre-agreed results are met. Of the World Bank’s lending commitments to Nigeria for polio from 2003 to 2012—a total of $195 million—Nigeria has already qualified for a 70 percent buy-down.

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