Polio vaccination campaign begins

In response to an outbreak of polio in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Republic of Congo (ROC) has launched a three-phase vaccination campaign against the disease. "The threat is serious," said Edouard Ndinga, ROC's national officer in charge of the immunisation programme, as he urged the population to comply with the campaign, the first phase of which began on 9 June. The initiative is the result of a meeting between the governments of ROC, Angola and the DRC following the polio outbreak in Boma, in the Bas-Congo Province in western DRC, on the ROC-Angola border. The operation will concentrate on ROC's southern departments of Brazzaville, Pool, Lékoumou, Bouenza, Niari and Kouilou - all of which border the DRC - in a bid to prevent an outbreak in these provinces. The campaign is sponsored by the United Nations Children's Fund and the World Health Organization and will target close to 350,000 children up to age five. "It is imperative that parents take their children for vaccination," Ndinga said. "We are equipping the regions, and our teams will be on the ground." ROC has not recorded a polio outbreak since 2000. "It is not a question of whether our country has been contaminated, but a measure in line with ongoing efforts to kick out polio from the Congo since 1999," Ndinga said. In 2004, 739,065 children were vaccinated against polio during a national drive. The campaign recorded 83,9 percent coverage, with 42,200 children vaccinated in the Pool Department out of a total of 49,370 and 26,149 children vaccinated in the Likouala Department out of a total of 31,165. The second phase of the immunisation is scheduled to begin on 7 July, and the third phase will be held between 6 and 8 August, with Vitamin A supplements also being provided.