18 months to eradicate polio

Although polio eradication efforts in Africa have accelerated over the past year, several "serious constraints" remain, WHO has warned. A report in WHO's Weekly Epidemiological Record said civil conflict, insecurity, economic decline and the high burden of HIV in many African countries had resulted in damaged public health infrastructure, declining routine immunisation coverage and low morale among health staff involved in polio eradication efforts. In Angola, Chad and the DRC, the poor condition of road networks had also made crucial house-to-house immunisation and surveillance activities very difficult, the report said. Despite these obstacles, "an intensely focused effort" in the next 18 months could reach the goal of polio eradication by the end of the year 2000, the report said, noting that about 88 million African children received two rounds of polio vaccinations in 1998 during national or sub-national immunisation days. The current funding shortfall for supplementary immunisation in the African region was US$ 13 million, the report added. To reach the year 2000 target, WHO recommends that intensified national immunisation days be conducted this year in Angola, Chad, the DRC, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.