The Nigeria Governors’ Immunization Leadership Challenge is a performance-based funding award to facilitate increased political commitment and funding for the eradication of polio and the improvement of routine immunisation in Nigeria. The Challenge funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation offered two types of incentives to winning states. One was a $500,000 grant to winning states for funding a priority health project and secondly, an additional $250,000 was made available as counterpart funding if matched by a state’s contribution of the same amount.

Solina Health was commissioned to evaluate the Challenge by measuring if the objectives were met. The evaluation sought to understand whether increased political commitment has resulted in local actions by senior government officials and whether the changes in political commitment and action translated into the states’ improved performance against polio and routine immunization outcome goals.

To achieve this, we conducted the evaluation as a retrospective analysis that included three (3) core components. The core components included, the desk review and analysis of quantitative program data, quarterly Abuja Commitment data for 2011 and 2012, and Leadership Challenge indicator data for 2012. Secondly, qualitative interviews of key immunization stakeholders at the national, state and LGA levels and thirdly, the review and analysis of the various forms of media coverage and publicity given to routine immunization, Nigeria’s polio eradication initiative and the Challenge through 2012.

Also, we assessed eighty-six (86) facilities and carried out supportive clinical mentoring in one-hundred and thirty-nine (139) facilities across the states. During the assessment period, we identified the deficient capacity areas and conducted training for over seven hundred and nineteen (719) facility staff on Clinical Service delivery, Clinical monitoring, Financial and program management, Infrastructural upgrades, and Human resources. 

Additionally, we worked with NPHCDA to accomplish community outreach and advocacy visits to two (2) states, seven (7) local governments and twenty-one (21) communities, appointed PMTCT Community Resource Persons in twenty-one (21) PHCs to establish facility-based support for PMTCT, and activated WDCs in 21 communities.

The evaluation revealed that there was a significant increase in polio program leadership among all state governors from 2011-2012. This increase in leadership became more pronounced among governors of states at high risk for polio in Nigeria. Additionally, we found out that states in Southern Nigeria with low risk for polio outperformed all others in translating political commitment to local actions.