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Trip abroad for proof of AIDS-free polio vaccine

    JOHANNESBURG

    Nigeria has announced that it is sending state and religious representatives abroad to help dispel beliefs that a polio vaccine could cause HIV infection.

    In October 2003 a project to immunise 15 million African children against polio was hampered when Muslim leaders in the northern part of Nigeria said the effort was part of a US plan to decimate the Muslim population by spreading HIV/AIDS and infertility.

    Since then, according to the Associated Press agency, three predominantly Muslim northern states have put a stop to the door-to-door polio vaccinations.

    The government is hopeful that the representatives will "bring back proof" that the polio vaccine is safe for immunisation.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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