SIGNING CEREMONY FOR JAPANESE GRANT AID FOR POLIO TO UNICEF, 2 AUGUST 2004

Japan grant signing ceremony

CAIRO, August 2, 2004: The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has received a grant worth US$ 3.7 million from the Japanese government to support the campaign against polio in Egypt.

The grant was formalized on Monday in a ceremonial signature and exchange of notes at the Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) in Cairo, in the presence of the First Under Secretary at MOHP, Dr Magda Rakha (centre). Japan was represented by its Ambassador to Egypt, Mr Kunihiko Makita (right), while Mr Rajen Kumar Sharma (left)represented UNICEF Egypt .

In a statement, Mr Sharma spoke of the vital role played by Egypt in bringing the world closer to the goal of eradicating the scourge of polio once and for all.

"Egypt today stands on the brink of eradicating polio," said Mr Sharma. "There's every reason to hope that within the next year, Egypt will join other countries where transmission of the disease has been halted."

The funds provided by Japan will be used to support the National Immunization Days (NIDs) planned by the MOHP for September and October 2004, during which some eleven million babies and children aged under 5 will be vaccinated. The money will procure 26 million vaccine doses as well as supporting transportation of more than 13,000 supervisors during the NIDs.

In his comments, Mr Sharma said the grant underlined UNICEF's deepening cooperation with the Japanese government, following similar funding received last year. UNICEF and Japan – along with the World Health Organization (WHO), the United States Agency for International Development (US AID), the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Atlanta, and Rotary international – have worked with MOHP and numerous local partners in the campaign against polio.

The campaign, said Mr Sharma, served "as an excellent example of what can be done when national and international organizations apply themselves with energy and commitment to a common goal."

For further information contact:

Simon Ingram, UNICEF, Communication Officer, Egypt
Singram@unicef.org
Tel: (202) 5265083-87 Ext. 210 / 208

Weaam El-Leithy, UNICEF Communication Assistant
Ext 208

Polio vaccination team

Background Information

Polio status in Egypt

• Number of polio cases dropped from 7 cases in 2002 to 1 case in 2004.
• Geographical concentration of wild poliovirus shrunken from 5 governorates in 2002 to two (Menia & Assiut) in 2004.
• Number of Positive Environmental samples dropped from 26 in 2002 to 1 in 2004.
• 3 NIDS, 1 Mop-up, and 4 SNIDs were implemented in 2003 and 2004 to vaccinate 11 million U5 children.

UNICEF’s Contribution:

UNICEF has been one of the major allies of MOHP in Polio Eradication activities in Egypt. In 2003 and 2004, the financial support of UNICEF to MOHP totaled at $ 8.7 million With UNICEF support, MOHP has been undertaking a range of activities, including:

• Training of health workers at all levels,
• Operational support to conduct various rounds of NIDs (transportation of vaccination teams as well as supervisors)
• Refurbish cold chain equipments,
• Social mobilization, and
• Procuring of 60 million doses of offshore OPV.