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African Regional News Updates |
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11 April 2009 Geneva - The International
Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) warned on Wednesday
that polio is spreading again in 14 countries across
Africa, including in areas where the disease had once
been eradicated.
"We have clear indications that polio is spreading
again, including in countries such as Uganda, which
had been polio-free for more than a decade," Tammam
Aloudat, an IFRC expert on emergencies.
The IFRC comprises all national Red Cross and Red
Crescent societies.
An outbreak previously restricted to southern Sudan
and western Ethiopia had recently spread to Kenya,
Uganda and northern Sudan, the IFRC reported.
The group noted that, in the past, polio originating
from eastern Africa had spread, probably owing to the
heavily used sea ports there, to Gulf states and
countries as far away as Indonesia.
The outbreak had also moved to the Democratic Republic
of Congo and neighbouring countries.
Polio today is considered endemic only in Afghanistan,
India, Nigeria and Pakistan.
The IFRC said that outbreaks in the previously
polio-free countries were "a sad reminder that the
fight against polio is not over yet".
The organisation said it needed $2-million to respond
to the viral outbreak.
In February, United Nations agencies and other groups
started a polio vaccine campaign to immunise 53
million children in eight West African countries,
including Nigeria, over the course of several weeks.
The large campaign was in response to a polio outbreak
last year, which spread from northern Nigeria to
nearby countries. - Sapa-dpa |
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