Horn of Africa eradicting polio
2005-09-13 14:56
Johannesburg - A large-scale polio immunisation project was launched in the Horn of Africa on Tuesday after a confirmed case of the disease in Somalia, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.
In a joint statement released in Geneva with Rotary International, the United States Centres for Disease Control and Unicef, the WHO said the project would run across Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and parts of Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo from September to November.
"The campaigns will reach more than 34 million children with multiple doses of polio vaccine and rapidly boost population immunity in the Horn of Africa," the statement read.
The project was planned after fears that an outbreak of polio in Ethiopia and Yemen could spread to Somalia, which has been polio free since 2002.
"Now, with confirmation of polio in Mogadishu, rapid implementation of the emergency measures are essential."
At least 1.5 million children under the age of five will be immunised in Somalia from September 28 onwards with a new vaccine which requires fewer doses to ensure immunity.
- SAPA