By IINA
Mogadishu : The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a major victory against polio in Somalia. Polio’s eradication in the conflict-ridden country was as a result of the untiring efforts of some 10,000 volunteers and health workers across the Horn of Africa. “Against a backdrop of widespread conflict, large population movements and a dearth of functioning government infrastructure, transmission of poliovirus in the country has been successfully stopped,” according to a recent WHO statement.
WHO and its partners, including the government Rotary International and UNICEF, last year launched polio eradication efforts in Somalia. Interestingly, no single case was reported since March 20007. During the period, more than 1.8 million Somali children under five have been repeatedly vaccinated. “Somalia shows that when communities are engaged, children everywhere can be reached,” Senior Health Advisor of UNICEF, Dr. Maritel Costales concurred. Somalia had eradicated polio in 2002, only to be reinfected in 2005 by
poliovirus that originated from Nigeria.
The Regional Director of WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean, Dr. Hussein Gezairy said the “truly historic achievement shows that polio can be eradicated everywhere, even in the most challenging and difficult settings.” With the exception of four endemic countries – Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan – polio has been eradicated in the world. The world health body urgently needs over US $500 million to fight the disease in the endemic countries in next two years.