CÔTE D’IVOIRE CARRIES OUT NATIONWIDE POLIO CAMPAIGN WITH HELP OF UN MISSION

The Government of Côte d'Ivoire is wrapping up a nationwide campaign to immunize children against polio today, carried out with the help of the United Nations mission which provided logistical support to the effort to stamp out the highly infectious and incurable viral disease.

Some 6 million children were targeted in the four-day campaign, which began on 14 August and is part of the National Immunization Days.

The UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) transported medical teams and equipment in 41 localities in the departments of Odienné and Daloa. UN Police were also mobilized to assist throughout the campaign.

The mission will continue to assist authorities over the next few days as they evaluate the immunization efforts, which were also supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Polio – contracted through contaminated food, water and faeces – was almost eradicated in Côte d'Ivoire until a case was confirmed in December 2008 in Adiaké in the country's east.

The disease attacks the nervous system and mainly affects children under five. One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis, usually in the legs, and among those paralyzed, five to 10 per cent die when their respiratory muscles become immobilized.
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UNICEF UNVEILS NEARLY $2 MILLION SCHEME TO FIGHT MALNUTRITION IN NIGERIA

The head of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) today pledged nearly $2 million to shore up nutrition in Nigeria to stem child mortality in the African nation.

The $1.85 million scheme, which will augment <"http://www.unicef.org/media/media_50504.html">UNICEF nutrition programmes already in place, will support community-based feeding stations where families can bring children to receive preventative and curative assistance.

"Lack of essential health services, malnutrition, inadequate access to clean water and basic sanitation contribute to high rates of child mortality," said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman in the Nigerian city of Abuja, launching the project.

"Through close cooperation among the Government of Nigeria and religious and traditional leaders, there is hope," added Ms. Veneman, who recently wrapped up a visit to the northern states of Kebbi and Sokoto.

In Kebbi, she took part in the launch on 31 July of Nigeria's first-ever National Child Health Week, during which some 30 million youngsters were expected to be immunized against preventable diseases such as polio, which is contracted through contaminated food, water and faeces and mainly affects children under the age of five. Nigeria is one of only four polio-endemic countries in the world and the only endemic country in Africa.

During her four-day visit to Nigeria, one of only four polio-endemic countries in the world and the only endemic country in Africa, she also announced UNICEF's allocation of more than $5 million to efforts to eradicate the disease.

Insecticide-treated bednets are also being handed out to curb the spread of malaria, the number one killer of under-five children in Nigeria.

"Knowledge is key," Ms. Veneman stressed, underscoring that if communities understand the importance of basic hygiene, "child deaths can be reduced and girls and boys can be given a healthier start in life."

National Child Health Weeks will be held twice a year in Nigeria – Africa's most populous country with nearly 150 million people, most of whom live in poverty – in close cooperation with the Government.

UNICEF USES TEXT MESSAGES TO SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT POLIO IN ZAMBIA

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) will be sending text messages to millions of Zambian parents this week as part of a new initiative to harness modern technology in the fight to prevent polio.

UNICEF has joined forces with the Zambian Health Ministry and two mobile phone companies, ZAIN and MTN, to encourage parents to bring their children under the age of five to the nearest health-care centre for free polio vaccinations.

"It is about time that we used modern technology to ensure child health and this year is particularly important because of the polio prevention campaign," said UNICEF Zambia Representative, Lotta Sylwander.

Ms. Sylwander also expressed gratitude to MTN and ZAIN for sending SMS texts informing millions of their subscribers of activities taking place during the prevention campaign against the crippling disease in 28 districts bordering Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

"Your child can be healthier! Take your children under age five to the nearest health centre for free vaccinations from 20-25 July," is the message Zambian mobile phone users will read, UNICEF said in a news release.

The campaign at the centre of Zambia's Child Health Week activities is part of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a partnership spearheaded by the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, the United States Center for Diseases Control and Prevention and UNICEF.

Polio is a highly infectious and incurable viral disease. Contracted through contaminated food, water and faeces, it attacks the nervous system and mainly affects children under five. One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis, usually in the legs, and among those paralyzed, five to 10 per cent die when their respiratory muscles become immobilized.
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BAN TO RECEIVE AWARD FROM ROTARY INTERNATIONAL ON VISIT TO BIRMINGHAM

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is set to travel over the weekend to Birmingham, United Kingdom, at the invitation of Rotary International, to receive an award for his contribution and efforts on the eradication of polio, his spokesperson announced today.

The United Nations chief will deliver a keynote address at the annual Rotary International convention, to recognize the organization for its leadership role in polio eradication and for its work in support of the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals, as well as climate change and global health, Michele Montas told reporters in New York.

"His remarks will focus on the importance of partnership between the United Nations and civil society, in dealing with global challenges," she stated.

The UN's partnership with Rotary International – a public service organization with some 1.2 million members worldwide – goes back to the days of the world body's founding in 1945.

Also during the visit, Mr. Ban will meet with the Global Compact Foundation network in the UK, as well as Chancellor Dominique Cadbury of Birmingham University, among other prominent figures.
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AFGHAN PRESIDENT KICKS OFF UN-BACKED POLIO IMMUNIZATION DRIVE

AFGHAN PRESIDENT KICKS OFF UN-BACKED POLIO IMMUNIZATION DRIVE
New York, Mar 16 2009 11:00AM

President Hamid Karzai has kicked off a United Nations-backed polio vaccination drive targeting some 7.7 million children in Afghanistan, one of four countries, along with India, Nigeria and Pakistan, where the disease is still endemic.

By administering the vaccine to children at the presidential palace yesterday, Mr. Karzai launched the campaign, which is led by the Afghan Ministry of Health and supported by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Afghanistan has had four confirmed polio cases so far this year: three from Shahwalikot, Panjwai and Daman districts of Kandahar province, and the fourth from Nadeali district in Helmand.

More than 50,000 staff are engaged in the three-day campaign, covering all 34 provinces and aiming to protect the country's children from the highly infectious, often paralyzing and sometimes fatal disease.

Contracted through contaminated food, water and faeces, polio mainly affects children under five, attacking the nervous system. One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis, usually in the legs, and among those paralyzed, five to 10 per cent die when their respiratory muscles become immobilized.
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MASSIVE UN POLIO IMMUNIZATION CAMPAIGN UNDERWAY IN WEST AFRICA

MASSIVE UN POLIO IMMUNIZATION CAMPAIGN UNDERWAY IN WEST AFRICA
New York, Feb 27 2009 2:00PM

Some 53 million children under the age of five, including every girl and boy in Nigeria, have been targeted by a mass polio immunization campaign across West Africa, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) announced today.

The door-to-door polio eradication drive is planned to sweep through eight countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Togo, and Nigeria, aiming to reach every child even in the remotest of areas.

The campaign, employing 162,000 trained immunizers, will attempt to stop last year's outbreak which hit northern Nigeria and spread to six countries in West Africa after the wild polio virus had already re-infected Niger in 2007, as well as Chad and Cameroon in Central Africa.

"The highest priority was to reach every child in Nigeria, which was one of the four endemic countries, and in the high-risk areas across the region," said Miranda Eeles, a spokesperson for UNICEF.

The total cost of the campaign is $29 million for the seven countries, with an additional $38 million for Nigeria, including the cost of the vaccine, operational costs, social mobilization and surveillance.

The campaign, which kicked off today and started earlier this month in Ghana, involves the health ministries of all the countries, as well as support from UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Rotary International, among others. It is being organized as part of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

Contracted through contaminated food, water and faeces, polio is a highly infectious and incurable viral disease, which mainly affects children under five, attacking the nervous system. One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis, usually in the legs, and among those paralyzed, five to 10 per cent die when their respiratory muscles become immobilized.
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