Millions of children to be vaccinated against polio

Some 14 million children are to be immunised against polio as part of a final drive to eradicate the virus from Ethiopia, the health ministry said on Thursday. The immunisations, to be carried out on children under five in two rounds during October and December, are critical if Ethiopia is to be polio free by 2005. The global fight against polio – spearheaded by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF - is one of the largest public health campaigns ever. It aims to wipe out the disease by the year 2005. Dr Tesfanesh Belay, head of the ministry's family health department, said the national immunisation days (NIDs) were “critical”. “We have to intensify our efforts in mobilising resources locally to complement the assistance we are getting from external sources,” she said. The campaign – which will cost around US $16 million – will take place in some of the remotest areas of the country. Vaccination teams will target Afar, Somali, Oromiya and Benishangul Gumuz regions. Reported polio cases have reached an all time low of less than 500 worldwide compared to an estimated 350,000 cases in 1988 when the campaign began.