Last week I wrote about plans to eradicate polio by 2005. Next week the United Nations will initiate an enormous attempt to get closer to that goal — from Monday through Friday the UN hopes to immunize 70 million children in 14 West African countries against polio.
The countries taking part are Benin, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. Three other countries will have children mass immunized in November: Cameroon, Chad and the Ivory Coast. Assuming medical workers are able to pull this feat off, that would take care of 17 of the 30 countries where polio still occurs.
The only downside is that the UN will not be able to reach some areas of Sierra Leone that are held by rebels as part of the ongoing civil war there.
Source:
U.N. plans massive polio immunization campaign in 14 African countries. The Associated Press, October 10, 2000.