Polio vaccination targets 85 million in West Africa

DAKAR, Sunday

A massive polio vaccination campaign targeting about 85 million children is underway in West and Central Africa.

Health experts attribute the resurgence of the disease to minimal vaccination coverage during similar campaigns in West and Central Africa.

Several years back, world experts and governments had declared the region safe from the infectious pathology that mainly infects, maims and even kills infants.

The impression was informed on the fact that massive public awareness campaigns against the disease by the WHO and governments in the regions covered millions of expectant mothers and children aged 5 and below.

Barely six months ago

But not until barely six months ago, about nine West and Central African countries began identifying new cases.

Today, nine of 19 countries in the West and Central Africa region are considered by WHO authorities as “active” sources of the disease.

Hence, as of March 6, the WHO and governments of nine countries in the two regions begun an exclusive vaccination campaign.

The countries being covered are Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, and Sierra Leone.

Other countries concerned by the effort Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, the Central African Republic (CAR), The Gambia, Cape Verde, and Guinea-Bissau.