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24 March 2010, Ouagadougou - During a meeting held on Tuesday 23 March Burkina Faso’s First Lady Chantal Compaoré, Patroness of National Vaccination Days, made a call for children to be vaccinated during the second round of vaccination which is scheduled for 2 to 5 April 2010. The event was also attended by the Minister of Health, Seydou Bouda; World Health Organization (WHO) Representative Djamila Cabral; UNICEF Representative Hervé Periès; Rotary International;  the Red Cross, the Association of Preventative Medicine, directors and heads of service and other partners.  

An appeal was made by the First Lady to local authorities, partners, parents and vaccination teams to mobilise communities to vaccinate their children. “The goal is to vaccinate all children aged 0 to 59 months,” she said.  She launched the challenge of having 0 cases of wild polio virus in Burkina Faso in 2010.
The Minister of Health welcomed the First Lady’s commitment and efforts in favour of vaccinating children in Burkina Faso. He thanked WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International, the Red Cross and other partners for their support and guidance.
The WHO Representative highlighted the commitment of partners in working alongside the Government to eliminate the polio virus. She noted that in 2009, 15 cases of polio had been registered in Burkina Faso, despite the six rounds of vaccination implemented that same year. She stated that efforts to eradicate polio in Burkina Faso are continuing.
In Burkina Faso the three rounds of vaccination for 2010 are taking place from 6 to 9 March, 2 to 5 April and 23 to 26 April.