Addis Ababa, 30 August 2006-- Prospects are still bright for “Kicking Polio Out of Africa” despite setbacks suffered in eradication efforts over the last three years, the World Health Organization says.

“The goal of Polio eradication is still within reach. However, ensuring adequate funding for the implementation of priority interventions remains a major challenge”, WHO Regional Director for Africa Dr Luis Sambo, said Wednesday in a report to the fifty-fifth session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa taking place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Addressing the session, Dr Sambo said “high level political commitment, improved and innovative vaccination campaigns and steady progress in routine immunization are causes for optimism” that the eradication goal can be reached.

The Regional Director explained that eradication efforts continued to be hampered by persistent financial gaps, including an $85 million gap for 2006, and unmet needs of $400 million for 2007 – 2008. However, “with the support of the international community, we are bound to succeed”, he said.

Dr Sambo also spoke of other challenges such as the very high-intensity wild poliovirus transmission in Nigeria where the number of polio cases more than doubled in the first five months of 2006 compared to the same period in 2005. The vast, populous West African country is believed to account for over 80% of the 2006 global polio burden.

Dr Sambo went on to propose concrete interventions that could help to achieve the polio eradication goal in the region. 
These are: improved vaccination coverage especially in northern Nigeria; implementation of high-quality polio outbreak response in previously polio-free countries experiencing importations; strengthening of routine immunization and surveillance, and the intensification of advocacy and resource mobilization efforts.

WHO, in collaboration with partners, has supported the vaccination of more than 100 million children in 29 countries in the last two years, thus reducing the number of endemic countries from two to just one, he said. Twelve countries that had suffered wild poliovirus importation in 2003 – 2005 have since re-established their polio-free status

In addition, 28 countries in the Region attained their polio-free status for at least three years, and 14 of them have presented polio-free documentation for review by the African Regional Certification Commission.

For further information contact:

Media contact:  Samuel T. Ajibola
Tel: + 47 241 39378
In Addis Ababa : 0911 53 23 32
Email: ajibolas [at] afro.who.int