Bauchi— Bauchi State government has approved the payment of N80 million of the N160 million outstanding counterpart funding for the state government to strengthen routine polio immunisation in the state.

Governor Mohammed Abubakar, who stated this on the occasion of the state’s routine immunisation strengthening mid-year reviewing meeting in Bauchi, said the money was released after the government signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Dangote Foundation towards strengthening immunisa-tion coverage in the state.

He reiterated the commitment of his administration to the development of health services in the state, pointing out that the present administration had conducted two rounds of polio immunisation campaigns, maternal, neo-natal and child care week and response to diarrhoea disease outbreak in the state.

He said Bauchi State had approved the release of N87 million for the supply of essential drugs to all hospitals in the state.