Sidibe de Marféré
Côte d’Ivoire staged its ninth synchronized National Immunisation Day (NID) against Polio from 25 to 28 February within the framework of the global polio eradication campaign. The campaign, which targeted over 360,000 children under the age of five throughout the whole country, was part of a drive throughout West Africa to vaccinate more than 100 million children in 22 countries in 2005.
The northern parts of the country not covered during the 2004 NIDs due to conflict, conducted successful campaigns in the northern health districts of Korhogo, Ferkessedougou and Bondoukou, and in the West-Central district of Daloa.
The Minister of Health called on the entire nation to be mobilized to guarantee the complete success of the four-day campaign for the benefit of Ivorian children. In response to a Ministry of Health request, the Red Cross Society of Côte d’Ivoire (CRCI) took charge of social mobilization activities in Northern and West-Central districts of the country.
As a strong auxiliary of the government, the CRCI has extensive experience in social mobilization and specifically for previously successful similar campaigns in Abidjan and in the interior parts of the country.
Polio cases made a fierce resurgence in West African countries during 2004, placing global eradication efforts in jeopardy. Côte d’Ivoire, once free of the virus, saw 17 new cases in 2004. A single imported case spread quickly because of the low national polio vaccination coverage and the ongoing civil unrest and population movement.
The Federation’s Health Officer in Abidjan, Dr Yao Robert, has worked closely with coalition partners in planning the five rounds of polio vaccination through November 2005.
“The Red Cross of Cote d’Ivoire financed 759 volunteers who did social mobilization in the health districts of Korhogo, Ferke, Daloa and Bondoukou. They visited 17,949 homes and identified 182,086 under-fives to be vaccinated. The World Health Organisation financed 2,741 volunteers of the Red Cross of Cote d’Ivoire from the 44 local committees, giving a total of 3,500 volunteers that successfully carried out social mobilization in various health districts,” Dr Robert added.
One of the main tasks of the volunteers was to raise awareness among the population about the importance of vaccinating under-fives.
According to the Mr. Saouré, Secretary General of the Daloa local committee of the CRCI, Red Cross volunteers worked through the night to reach villages situated many kilometres from the town, in spite of inadequate means of communication.
The Ministers of Health of six polio-endemic nations namely, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Niger, Afghanistan and Egypt - down from over 125 when the Initiative was launched in 1988 - signed the Geneva Declaration on the Eradication of Poliomyelitis on 13 January 2004.
This was a historic agreement to take the final steps towards an all-out assault on the disease and to enhance immunization of their populations. African governments responded with increased commitment and found solutions to overcome the suspicions of some affected countries in the West Africa surrounding the resumption of vaccination campaigns.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is spearheaded by the WHO, Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and UNICEF, with national Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies playing an important role at community level.
Polio, a crippling virus, is spread by faecal-oral contact and can be prevented by an oral vaccine.