80 Million African Children Get Polio Vaccine After Outbreak

Afghanistan National Immunization Days, Kabul, October 2003. Woman vaccinator giving polio drops. Source: Ellyn Ogden/USAID

Polio broke out anew in several African countries, which set off a campaign to immunize 80 million children in 22 African countries during October and November 2004. The intensified campaign to fight the virus came as new cases were confirmed in Guinea, Mali, and Sudan, bringing the number of African countries where the disease has been confirmed to 12.

Polio is highly infectious, and spreads through a virus that invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours. The disease mainly affects children under the age of three. Prior to 1988, polio paralyzed 1000 children a day. The development of the polio vaccine in the 1950s by Dr. Albert Sabin has led to the near eradication of the disease.

Afghanistan National Immunization Days, Bagram, October 2002. Ellyn Ogden, USAID Worldwide Polio Eradication Coordinator discussing with the baby's mother the child's overall health and value of polio immunization. Then Mission Director, Craig Buck is in the back looking on. Source: Ellyn Ogden/USAID

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of mid September 2004 there were 668 cases of polio in 16 countries as compared to 332 cases in eight countries at the same time last year. In Nigeria, 518 cases alone were reported. Some 19 cases were also confirmed in Niger, and another 53 in what were previously considered 10 polio-free countries across Africa.

"The polio epidemic may approach or exceed 1,500 cases in Africa in 2004 - this is a tragedy for African children," said USAID's Polio Eradication Coordinator Ellyn Ogden.

The polio campaigns in 22 African countries that took place October 8-11 and November 20-23 are valued at $100 million. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative, spearheaded by WHO, UNICEF, The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Rotary International together with host-country governments, bilateral donors, and others, has invested $5 billion in the campaign since the global initiative began in 1988. U.S. foreign assistance through USAID and the CDC has accounted for 40 percent of the initiative's funding.

Afghanistan National Immunization Days. October 2002. Ellyn Ogden, USAID Worldwide Polio Eradication Coordinator administering vitamin A and polio drops to a child during the launch of the campaign in Kabul. The nurse is preparing to give Vitamin A to the child by snipping off the top of the Vitamin A capsule. Source: Ellyn Ogden/USAID

The goal is to immunize every child under the age of five, but the campaigns face different challenges in each country. Children can be missed for a number of reasons from poor planning and social mobilization to lack of transport or civil strife. In some communities, cultural practices prohibit unrelated men or other strangers from entering a home. "Countries are advised to consider gender, ethnic, and religious customs in their strategies and to work closely with community leaders to overcome these barriers," said Ogden. However, community leaders have been known to actually delay or halt immunization, as was the case in Nigeria's Kano state a year ago.

Nevertheless, Ogden is optimistic. Countries are striving to improve training of vaccinators and supervisors, mobilizing health ministries, and involving local and religious leaders to ensure that as many children as possible are vaccinated, she said. Partner organizations such as WHO, UNICEF, CDC and USAID provide technical assistance and help monitor quality. As a result, immunization campaigns have reduced polio cases worldwide from 350,000 in 1988, to 784 cases at the end of 2003.

Angola National Immunization Days, 1999. Vaccinators are giving polio drops to a child. Source: Ellyn Ogden/USAID

Polio has not yet been eradicated in six countries including Niger, Nigeria, Egypt, Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan. This is down from 125 countries when immunization efforts began. Five million cases of childhood paralysis have been prevented to date.

For more information go to www.polioeradication.org.