The United Nations on Sunday launched a campaign to vaccinate more than nine million children in Malawi and three neighbouring countries against polio following a recent outbreak of the disease in the region.
UNICEF said it was working with the governments of Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia as well as the World Health Organisation and other members in Global Polio Eradication Initiative during the first round of the mass vaccination campaign aimed at containing the outbreak first detected in Malawi last month.
The vaccination drive, being led by the respective governments with the support of UNICEF and partners, was launched on Sunday in Malawi, and would be followed by campaigns in neighbouring Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia starting on March 24.
Three more rounds of vaccination are expected to be administered in the coming months, covering more than 20 million children, the UN agency said.
“This is the first case of wild polio detected in Africa for more than five years and UNICEF is working closely with governments and partners to do everything possible to stop the virus in its tracks,” said Mohamed Fall, UNICEF regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa.
Polio spreads fast and can kill or cause permanent paralysis, with most people commonly contracting the disease after drinking water contaminated with the faeces of someone who carries the virus.
Children under the age of five and those living in areas with poor sanitation are most at risk.
There is no cure for polio, but the vaccine protects children for life.
JN/APA