Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State on Thursday met with a delegation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to deepen collaboration on improving polio immunization coverage, especially in hard-to-reach and insecurity-prone communities across Northern Nigeria.
The delegation was led by the Foundation’s Global Polio Director, Ms. Kathy Neuzil. The meeting, held at the Gombe Governor’s Lodge in Abuja, focused on strengthening security coordination, enhancing community mobilization and improving monitoring frameworks with clear timelines to accelerate progress toward a polio-free Nigeria.
Governor Yahaya, who is Chairman of both the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) and the National Economic Council (NEC) Committee on Polio Eradication, reaffirmed his commitment to coordinating national efforts to eliminate the disease.
He said insecurity remains a major obstacle to reaching certain communities and pledged to work closely with governors and security agencies to ensure safe access for vaccination teams.
“As Chairman of the NEC Committee on Polio Eradication, I will continue to engage my colleagues and relevant security agencies to strengthen access,” he said. “If it requires special security arrangements to protect health workers, we are fully prepared to facilitate that.”
He added that new security strategies are being deployed to improve community access and frontline worker protection during the next phase of immunization campaigns.
Governor Yahaya highlighted the “Gombe model”—built on community ownership, coordinated structures and consistent political will—as a model that can be replicated across Northern states to improve outcomes.
In her remarks, Ms. Neuzil expressed concern over insecurity limiting access to certain communities and called for sustained collaboration, particularly with Governor Yahaya in his leadership roles at the NSGF and NEC Polio Committee, to mobilize state leaders and security agencies.
She commended the Governor for the progress recorded in Gombe and noted that donors closely monitor political commitment and action-driven milestones.
“We commend the remarkable political will in Gombe,” she said. “Working together with state governments, especially under your leadership, gives us confidence that the remaining gaps can be closed.”
The Governor was accompanied by the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Habu Dahiru; Executive Secretary of GoHealth, Dr. Abubakar Musa; and Executive Secretary of the Gombe State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr. Abdulrahman Shuaibu.
The Gates Foundation team included Ms. Neuzil, Yusuf Yusufari, Deputy Director, and Andrew Stein, Deputy Director.
