EGYPT'S POLIO PARTNERS DECLARE COMMITMENT TO ERADICATING THE DISEASE BY END OF 2005
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| © UNICEF Egypt |
| His Excellency Dr. M. Awad Tag El Din Minster of Health & Population addresses national & international polio partners |
The declaration was made at a ceremony held in Cairo on March 24 under the auspices of the First Lady of Egypt, Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak, and presided by the Minister of Health and Population, Dr Mohamed Awad Tag el Din.
Among those attending were senior MOHP officials, the Ambassador of Japan to Egypt, Mr. Kunihiko Makita, UNICE Goodwill Ambassador, Mahmoud Kabil, UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador Safeia El Emari and members of the media.
Addressing the gathering, Dr Tag el Din praised what he termed the remarkable contributions of the various partners to the polio campaign, which he said had taken Egypt close to declaring itself free of polio.
"The participation of every Egyptian citizen, and the administration of the Ministry of Health & Population, along with the commitment His Excellency President Mubarak, and under auspices of her Excellency Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak have had a great impact," said the minister. "We have been able to cover every part of Egypt, sending immunization teams to houses, to nurseries, train stations, airports, in fact everywhere necessary in order to ensure that every child under the age of 5 years is vaccinated".
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| © UNICEF Egypt |
| UNICEF representative, Dr Erma Manoncourt pledges UNICEF support to eradicating polio in Egypt. |
For her part, UNICEF Representative Dr Erma Manoncourt said the event was evidence of the continuing commitment of Egypt and its international partners to the global campaign against polio, and she pledged UNICEF's support to seeing the job done.
"Egypt has come tantalizingly close to success – we are just a fingertip away from achieving our goal," said Dr Manoncourt.
She expressed appreciation to the many partners whose joint efforts had reduced polio from a disease that crippled thousands of children annually in the early 1980s, to a single recorded case in 2004.
Dr Manoncourt noted the crucial contributions of key partners like the World Health Organization, US Agency for International Development and Rotary International. She also praised the role played by religious leaders and volunteers who spread the immunization message in the community, and the vital support of private sector companies such as Coca Cola and Mobinil, television broadcasters and members of the media.
"The point is an obvious one but its worth re-stating: the polio campaign in Egypt has been an undertaking of truly national proportions".
In her statement, Cathryn Panther, USAID head of Health & Population division, spoke of her organization's 25 year partnership with the MOHP. "Together we have witnessed great accomplishments. Now the next accomplishment we are waiting for is to declare the eradication of polio from Egypt and from the rest of the world".
Representing WHO Egypt, Dr. Zohair Halaj said that the global drive against polio would be seen as one of the most important public health initiatives in history".
"In Egypt great progress towards eradicating polio has taken place. Just one case was confirmed in 2004, and there is an obvious decrease in the extent of the wild polio virus from environmental samples. This is proof of the continuous progress in the activities to eradicate polio".
Speaking on behalf of Rotary International, Dr. Diaa Seif El Nasr hailed the part played by young volunteers in taking the polio campaign to every community in the country.
Egypt is planning at least six National Immunization Days during 2005, with the aim of vaccinating 11 million children aged 5 and under.
For further information contact
Simon Ingram, Communication Officer, UNICEF Egypt
singram@unicef.org
Sahar Hegazi, Programme Communication Officer, UNICEF Egypt
shegazi@unicef.org
Essam Allam, Assistant Health Officer
eallam@unicef.org
Tel: (202) 5265083-87
Fax: (202) 5264218