November 23, 2006: New round of immunisation days aims to reach 22 million childrenIn an effort to eradicate the re-emergence of polio, Bangladesh will immunise 22 million children under the age of five on Saturday. November 25th will be the first round of the 14th National Immunization Days (NIDs). The second round of the NIDs will be conducted on December 23rd. Since the detection of the poliovirus in March this year after an absence of 5 years there have been four polio NIDs which were held on April 16th, May 13th, June 11th and August 6th. It is estimated that the first four rounds reached between 95% and 97% of under-five children in the country. The Government of Bangladesh along with support from UNICEF, WHO, Rotary International and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, Atlanta) decided to immunize all children under the age of five across the country when the first case of polio was detected earlier in the year. Massive preparations are currently underway. “We cannot but feel encouraged at the prompt and effective response mounted in order to counter the threat of polio re-emergence. Needless to say how critical it is for the NIDs go ahead as planned. It is a global public health emergency. We are all aware of the prevailing political situation in the country and we are calling on all parties to ensure that this NID takes place on 25th across the country as planned,” said Louis-Georges Arsenault, UNICEF Bangladesh Representative. The Advisor to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Professor (Emeritus) Sufia Rahman addressed a press briefing Thursday before formally inaugurating the 14th round of the National Immunization Days today (Friday). “The decision made by the government of Bangladesh to conduct the two additional rounds of NIDs in response to the importation of the polio virus is in line with the WHO recommendation for polio eradication. To control the transmission of the polio virus it is necessary to reach all children including those in hard to reach areas and those who are traveling. The Government’s initiative to strengthen the existing surveillance system and timely actions regarding EPI will play a vital role to stop transmission of the virus. By working together, I am optimistic that we will be able to make Bangladesh polio-free once again.” said Dr Duangvadee Sungkhobol, World Health Organization (WHO) Representative to Bangladesh. The first round of the 14th NIDs is particularly important as it combines polio vaccines with Vitamin A capsules for children between 1 and 5 years, and de-worming tablets for children between 2 and 5. Vitamin A supplementation provides a highly cost-effective way to protect children against Vitamin A deficiency that can cause serious health and growth hazards and increases vulnerability to several other diseases. In order to ensure total elimination of polio, the government will also hold 4 rounds of NIDs in 2007 and continue 2 rounds of NIDs every year from 2008 until bordering India, which has been identified as a polio-endemic country, is polio-free. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) works with governments around the world to reduce the incidence of polio and is spearheaded by WHO, Rotary International, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and UNICEF. The GPEI has reduced the incidence of polio by more than 99% since its launch in 1988, from 350,000 annual cases to 1526 cases in 2006. For more information:
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