Immunisation Drive Could Wipe Out Polio By End of 2004
Polio could be eradicated by the end of 2004 in one final last ambitious push to immunise 250 million children several times each, the head of the World Health Organisation's campaign says.
Polio, which used to kill and disable many thousands of children every year, could be eradicated by the end of 2004 in one final last ambitious push to immunise 250 million children several times each, the head of the World Health Organisation's campaign said yesterday.
"We really do have a one-time opportunity to get it finished," said Bruce Aylward, its global coordinator. "The goal is to finish it by the end of 2004, but we may still be mopping up at the beginning of 2005.
"If we are still dealing with widescale transmission in 2005, the world will have squandered that opportunity."
Yesterday the international development secretary Hilary Benn announced that his department would contribute a further £10m to the polio eradication effort in addition to the £2.2m already committed for this year. That amounts to more than half the $30m (£16.5m) the campaign says it still needs to finish the job.
"We want to finish this off because it would complete a quite remarkable achievement. It would show what can be achieved - a real development success story," Mr Benn said.
The campaign has cut the number of polio cases in the world from 350,000 to around 3,000 over the last 15 years. "That is a 99% reduction," said Mr Benn. "We just need one more heave. We're putting this money in because we think this is doable and it is really important."
But the campaign was in danger of being derailed last year by a huge outbreak of polio in Kano, northern Nigeria, that left 82 children paralysed.
"We really do have a one-time opportunity to get it finished," said Bruce Aylward, its global coordinator. "The goal is to finish it by the end of 2004, but we may still be mopping up at the beginning of 2005.
"If we are still dealing with widescale transmission in 2005, the world will have squandered that opportunity."
Yesterday the international development secretary Hilary Benn announced that his department would contribute a further £10m to the polio eradication effort in addition to the £2.2m already committed for this year. That amounts to more than half the $30m (£16.5m) the campaign says it still needs to finish the job.
"We want to finish this off because it would complete a quite remarkable achievement. It would show what can be achieved - a real development success story," Mr Benn said.
The campaign has cut the number of polio cases in the world from 350,000 to around 3,000 over the last 15 years. "That is a 99% reduction," said Mr Benn. "We just need one more heave. We're putting this money in because we think this is doable and it is really important."
But the campaign was in danger of being derailed last year by a huge outbreak of polio in Kano, northern Nigeria, that left 82 children paralysed.
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