Polio can be wiped out this year, UNICEF's Rima Salah says

The eradication of the polio virus in Nigeria in 2003 is still possible with adequate political commitment to overcome resistance to immunisation, says UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Director for West and Central Africa, Rima Salah. Salah visited Nigeria for three days last week and met top officials including President Olusegun Obasanjo. She called for the reinforcement of routine immunisation of children as part of efforts to eradicate vaccine-preventable diseases such as polio, according to a statement from UNICEF. “The target of polio eradication in Nigeria in 2003 is possible," Salah said. "What we need is greater political commitment and support to ensure that all children are immunized and that pockets of resistance are overcome.” Nigeria is one of five countries which, together, account for more than 85 percent of new polio cases worldwide. The others are Afghanistan, India, Niger and Pakistan. In recent years the immunisation effort in Nigeria has encountered resistance in parts of the country, mainly in the Muslim north. This resistance has been fuelled by certain Islamic preachers who who allege that the vaccines either cause sterility or contain HIV. All nine states where polio cases has been identified are in the north. Salah commended Obasanjo for showing personal commitment in the fight against HIV/AIDS and malaria. She urged similar action to redress the poor state of girls' education in the country of 120 million, pledging UNICEF assistance to reduce the high illiteracy rate among girls - up to 70 percent in some regions. “We in UNICEF are ready to help the government in any way that we can,” Salah said. The Nigerian government promised to tackle all the issues that made parents and guardians withdraw girls from school.