POLIO [to 18 April 2015]
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

GPEI Update: Polio this week – As of 15 April 2015
Global Polio Eradication Initiative
[Editor’s Excerpt and text bolding]
Full report: http://www.polioeradication.org/Dataandmonitoring/Poliothisweek.aspx
:: 12 April marked 60 years since Jonas Salk’s inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) was launched, enabling children to be protected against polio for the first time. Read more.
:: The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) is meeting this week in Geneva, and will review the current epidemiological situation for polio and provide updates on readiness for oral polio vaccine withdrawal.
:: A 5-day nationwide polio immunization campaign targeting 5.8 million children began in Iraq on 12 April. It is over a year since the last case of polio had onset of paralysis in Iraq, and the new campaign aims to vaccinate every child under 5 throughout the country. Read more.
:: National Immunization Days are planned in Madagascar on 27 April to 1 May.

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Keeping Iraq polio free: immunization campaign targets 5.8 million children
13 April 2015 – A 5-day nationwide polio immunization campaign targeting 5.8 million children under 5 years of age began in Iraq on Sunday 12 April. The campaign was marked by events held on 12 April in Baghdad, organized by the Ministry of Health, and on 13 April in Erbil organized by the Kurdistan regional Ministry of Health. Representatives of WHO and UNICEF attended both events with Rotary International attending the launch in Erbil. It is over a year since the last case of polio was reported in Iraq, and the new campaign aims to vaccinate every child under 5 throughout the country.

Iraq is one of the countries at highest risk for polio in the Region due to vulnerable populations living in multiple governorates. These include internally displaced persons, refugees, communities dwelling in slums and vast portions of the country where insecurity hinders health outreach activities. Vaccination teams will exert extra effort to reach children within these populations during the April campaign, with approximately 24 000 health workers set to conduct house-to-house visits.

“Action to contain and stop polio in Iraq has been strategic, concentrated and swift due to the strong commitment of the Government,” said Dr Jaffar Hussain, WHO Representative to Iraq. “Keeping Iraq polio free has been a major priority for WHO and its partners over the past 12 months, and we are doing everything we can to maintain this great achievement,” he said.

In the last year, a total of 13 subnational and national polio immunization campaigns have been conducted across the country to counter gaps in routine immunization services. Violence and insecurity in many parts of Iraq, damage to health facilities, and a shortage of health workers continue to create hurdles in reaching every child under 5 with oral polio vaccine (OPV).

“Population movement and shortfalls in routine immunization pose significant challenges for the polio eradication programme,” Dr Hussain said. “However, with the committed leadership of the Ministry of Health, support from donors, and through strong collaboration among our partners, we have been able to consistently reach over 90% of all children for the last 9 campaigns since April 2014,” he said.

Dr Hussain cautioned that certain high-risk governorates such as Baghdad, Karbala, Muthana and Babylon do not have uniformly high vaccination rates at the district level and thus require particular attention during the campaign…

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Cameroon soldiers defy Boko Haram in polio battle
By Monde Kingsley Nfor
IRIN | 13 April 2015
MAROUA, 13 April 2015 (IRIN) – How do you vaccinate women and children against polio in remote areas prone to attack from Boko Haram militants? Arm the soldiers with vaccine.

This is exactly what has happened with great success in northern Cameroon.

Following a series of abductions last year by Boko Haram groups, military escorts have been joining vaccination drives in Cameroon’s Far North Region to protect both local and international humanitarian workers.

In addition to acting as a security presence, officers, who normally patrol the frontlines and at-risk border communities, are also trained to administer polio vaccines – a tactic UNICEF says has been key to the successful campaign.

It allowed children in even the most dangerous areas to be vaccinated, as well as refugees the moment their families crossed the border.

“It is our role to protect the population and prevent them from whatever danger, including health threats,” a Cameroonian commander, who wished to remain anonymous, told IRIN. “So we are simply adding more value to the work that we are already doing.”

Military personnel also engaged with community leaders and radio stations to spread word of the importance of the vaccinations.

“In my locality, I make sure that my people get excited and look for the vaccinators,” said a chief called Lamido from Guidiguis in far northern Cameroon…