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30 March 2010

Football legend Kanu aims to kick polio out of Nigeria
Public service announcement urges parents to immunize their children
 

NIGERIA'S soccer captain Nwankwo Kanu has two goals for 2010: he wants Nigeria to shine at the upcoming World Cup, and he wants to eradicate polio from Africa.

"I’ve scored many goals for my country," the 33-year-old striker says in a series of Public Service Announcements now airing across Nigeria on radio and TV. "But there’s still one goal I want to score: I ant to kick polio out of Nigeria."

Nigeria is the only country in Africa that has never stopped polio transmission. However, repeated immunization campaigns of improving quality have the country on the cusp of making history: this year, only one case of polio has been reported across Nigeria. And if Nigeria can eradicate polio, Africa can quickly become polio-free.

In the PSAs, Kanu appeals to parents across Nigeria to help consign polio to memory. "Most of the countries in Africa have kicked out polio," he says, "let's do the same. Be a good parent. Do what I have done and immunize your child against polio."

Kanu, who has played with Ajax in Holland, Inter Milan in Italy, and Arsenal, West Bromwich Albion and Portsmouth in the English Premier League, is the most decorated African footballer in history, having won the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Cup, the Premier League title, the FA Cup and having captained Nigeria to Olympic Gold. Individually, he has also won two African Player of the Year awards.

Although coming to the end of his international career - this will be his fourth World Cup - Kanu remains a hugely influential figure in Nigeria, both for his exploits on the field and for his work as patron of the Kanu Heart Foundation and his role as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

Kanu did not hesitate when asked to participate in Nigeria's fight against polio. "I understand I'm a role model," Kanu said. "As footballers, children look up to us. If this can help more children get immunized against polio, then that's a good thing."

In 2009, Nigeria reported 388 cases of polio. This year, as of 24 March 2010, it has reported only one.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative wishes to thank Queens Park Rangers Football Club and the Mittal family for making Loftus Road Stadium available for filming.

10 March 2010

"We will never have a better chance to eradicate polio than we will in the next three years."
Excerpts from Bill Gates' testimony to US Senate Foreign Relations Committee

10 March, Washington DC: ...Key to the success in raising global vaccination rates in recent years has been the global partnership model. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative, the Measles Initiative and the GAVI Alliance have demonstrated what is possible when stakeholders bring their respective strengths together under a common cause.

...The polio eradication program is facing a gap of more than $1 billion through 2012. We all need to do much more.

...The U.S. has been a generous donor in the area of vaccines, contributing $1.8 billion to polio eradication and another $568 million to the GAVI Alliance. We will never have a better chance to eradicate polio than we will in the next three years. The new Global Polio Eradication Initiative 2010-2012 strategy outlines a time-bound, aggressive program, one which takes full advantage of new tools, acknowledges and overcomes previous setbacks, looks to address risks proactively, and builds on the lessons learned in the past several years. We are optimistic that this will strike at the final reservoirs of polio and consign this terrible virus to history.

...It is our hope that with increasing commitment from the US and the Global Health Initiative, that we are one step closer as a global community to making the Decade of Vaccines, measured by lives saved, a reality.

Full speech

08 March 2010

Presidents against polio
Top-level leadership at vaccination campaign launches

The President of Chad started the day by announcing, "I am personally declaring war on polio." The President of Mali launched campaigns in his country, calling on his peers to help make Africa polio-free. The First Lady of Ghana encouraged her fellow citizens to vaccinate their children. In many west and central African countries, the highest levels of leadership were visible and voluble in supporting vaccination and in exhorting national and sub-national administrators to ensure all children were reached. 

President Idriss Deby Itno of Chad was joined by American actress Mia Farrow, a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador who was in the country for several days to highlight the challenges to eradicating polio there.Chad has re-established transmission of an imported wild poliovirus of Nigerian origin. More

04 March 2010

Africa united to tackle polio
L'Afrique unie dans la luttle contre l'épidemie de polio

Follow live on Google maps
Lisez la suite et suivez cette campagne sur Google maps

Dakar/Brazzaville, 4 March 2010 - More than 85 million children under five years old will be immunized against polio in 19 countries across West and Central Africa in a massive example of cross-border cooperation aimed at stopping a year-long polio epidemic.

Over 400,000 volunteers and health workers will take part in the campaign, which is part of an ongoing response to the epidemic that first spread from polio-endemic Nigeria to its polio-free neighbours in 2008 and is still paralyzing children in West and Central Africa. Nine countries – Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal and Sierra Leone – are considered to have active outbreaks of polio (i.e. cases within the last six months). The campaign kicks off on March 6 in these countries as well as Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, Central African Republic, Gambia, Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau. Niger, Togo and Cote d’Ivoire will join at a later date due to political transitions or elections.

This complex logistical operation is largely made possible by US$ 30 million in extraordinary funding released by Rotary International, a major partner in the global effort to stop polio.

WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis Gomes Sambo, said the synchronized campaign showed Africa's determination to be free of polio. "From the top leadership to local district administrators in every country," he said, "we are each accountable to the African child – to vaccinate every child and achieve high coverage."

A previous round of campaigns in 2009 did not stop the outbreak completely, as not enough children were vaccinated to stop polio transmission. After years with no polio cases, some countries lacked the necessary skills and experience to respond adequately to the outbreak. New approaches being introduced this year include standardized, independent monitoring of whether children have been reached, better training for vaccinators to carry out the plans fully and appropriate deployment of experienced staff.

UNICEF’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Dr Gianfranco Rotigliano noted: "With better coverage that leaves no child unvaccinated, these campaigns can succeed in making West and Central Africa polio-free."

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