Polio almost eradicated

With only two cases of polio paralysis to date this year in Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan, the Horn of Africa is extremely close to being polio-free, the World Health Organisation (WHO said on Wednesday. The two cases were recorded in Somalia. No cases have been found in Sudan and Ethiopia for well over a year, a press release from WHO's Polio Eradication Information Office said. "However to finish the job, the Horn countries must continue mass polio immunisation campaigns and urgently require the funding to carry these out," the statement said. "Despite the enormous challenge of delivering polio vaccine to children in Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia, the people of these countries have almost wiped polio out of the Horn," Dr Bruce Aylward, WHO's coordinator of the Polio Eradication Initiative, told a key meeting in Nairobi on Wednesday. "By reducing polio cases to near-zero, the partnership has demonstrated that polio's days are numbered even in countries where conflict has otherwise ravaged health systems." The Polio Eradication Initiative brings together the WHO, Rotary International, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, Somalia, Sudan and Ethiopia, nongovernmental organisations, and high-level representatives from donor countries. In order to immunise 22 million children annually and conduct international-standard surveillance for polio in Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan, US$ 50 million are required from 2003-2005, the press release said. It noted that donor commitment was critical. "If we are to truly finish with polio in the Horn and in all of Africa, every G8 country must fulfil its commitment to polio eradication, and other countries must join them," said Dr John Sever, of the Rotary International PolioPlus committee. Negotiating access to Mogadishu where the two polio cases were found was crucial, the press release added, noting that since April 2001, international staff had not had any access to the city. "We are calling on the full strength of the UN system to help us get into Mogadishu. With widespread support, using all channels available to negotiate access to the city, we can be sure the polio eradication work is getting done, and we can be sure to eliminate polio from Somalia," said Dr Elias Durry, WHO Horn of Africa, Polio Eradication Coordinator. See more on the Global Polio Eradication Initiative at www.polioeradication.org; www.endofpolio.org; www.unicef.org/polio and www.rotary.org/foundation/polioplus