12 new cases of polio outbreak have been confirmed recently since its eradication from Sierra Leone 10 years ago

Freetown, 6th March 2010 – The Ministry of Health and Sanitation, in collaboration with UNICEF, WHO, Rotary International and other development partners will vaccinate over one million children under the age of five in Sierra Leone against the wild polio virus outbreak that had been confirmed in the country since last July. The first of the three rounds of the polio vaccination campaign begins on 6th March and ends on 9th March 2010 in all the 13 districts of the country.

Sierra Leone was declared free from polio since 1999 and until this outbreak there was a zero report of polio contraction in the country. However, 12 new incidents of polio outbreak have been confirmed in six districts in Sierra Leone – Kambia, Port Loko, Moyamba, Bo, Kenema and Freetown – since July 2009.

The campaigns are synchronized with other West African countries and aim to vaccinate about 85 million children as part of the regional effort to stop the spread of the polio virus. The Mano River Union countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone will collaborate to ensure the coverage of all cross border settlements.

“We will mobilize all available resources and use the house-to-house strategy to make sure we reach and vaccinate every child under the age of five in every household throughout the entire country against the polio virus”, said Mohamed Koroma, Deputy Minister of Health and Sanitation. “Healthy children mean a healthy future for the country”.

Sierra Leone has one of the highest child and maternal mortality indicators in the world with 140 out of 1,000 children dying before they reach their fifth birthday and 856 out of 100,000 women dying in childbirth according to the Demographic and Health Survey 2008.

WHO Representative, Dr. Wondimagegnehu Alemu said that considering the relatively small size of the population of the country, 12 cases of a polio outbreak should be a concern to all of us.

“This outbreak is a call to all of us to increase our efforts in ensuring the health of the children of this nation and stop the spread of the polio virus by the end of June 2010”, said Mahimbo Mdoe, UNICEF Representative in Sierra Leone. “This is also an opportunity to positively change negative health perceptions, behaviours and practices”.

Development partners complement the government’s efforts by mobilizing funds for the procurement of vaccines, facilitation of trainings, communications, supplies, logistics and technical support.

This polio campaign is simultaneously taking place in seven other countries in West and Central Africa and these include Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, Central African Republic, The Gambia, Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau.

Over 400,000 volunteers and health workers will take part in the campaign across the region, which is part of an ongoing response to the epidemic that first spread from polio-endemic Nigeria to neighbouring countries that had hitherto been declared freed from polio in 2008 and is still paralyzing children in West and Central Africa.

For more information please contact:

Jonathan Abass Kamara, Public Relations Officer, Ministry of Health and Sanitation, tel: 076 678 021

Aminata Grace Kobie, Health Information and Promotion Adviser, WHO, tel: 076 723 236 kobiea [at] sl.afro.who.int (kobiea[at]sl[dot]afro[dot]who[dot]int)

Alison Parker, Officer-in-Charge, External Relations and Advocacy, UNICEF, tel: 076 601 310 aparker [at] unicef.org (aparker[at]unicef[dot]org)