Somalia: Puntland to continue polio vaccination campaign

GAROWE, Somalia, February 22, 2015 (Garowe Online)-Following a joint press statement that declared Somalia polio free for six months, the north eastern state of Puntland has said it will continue polio vaccination campaigns on Sunday, Garowe Online reports.

Abdirizak Abshir Hirsi, a departmental Director with the Ministry of Health told a news conference in the state capital of Garowe that Puntland welcomes the recent report by United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization.

“Despite huge progress in the fight against the deadly polio virus, we will continue to vaccinate children under the age of five against polio, “said Hirsi.

Spotlighting, with more than a half million children unvaccinated for over five years, UN agencies revealed that the last case was reported in August 2013 from Mudug region town of Hobyo.

Humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, Philippe Lazzarini called the achievement being made in polio front a breakthrough.

For the first time in six years, Somalia exhibited the first polio case in May 2013, with the irreversible paralysis subsequently affecting 194 people in 2013 alone.

Somalia has been without effective central government since 1991 when armed opposition groups toppled the country’s long standing military government.

Ever since, the country has been a spot for famine and contaminated water-related diseases with polio and cholera at the forefront. 

GAROWE ONLINE