SANAA, 21 May 2005 — Yemen received yesterday six million doses of polio vaccines procured by the United Nations Children’s Fund to help combat an outbreak of the disease.
UNICEF said in a statement the vaccines would be used in a three-day nationwide immunization campaign to start on May 30 to vaccinate all of Yemen’s 4.5 million children under the age of five years.
“The forthcoming round of immunization has assumed special urgency in view of the reported polio cases,” the statement said.
UNICEF has firmed up a comprehensive program of social mobilization to muster the support of schools, mosques, local councils, community leaders and artists.
Yemen is the most recent of the 15 polio-free countries to report cases of polio after more than four years of being polio-free and is one of the areas worst-hit by the virus.
Health Ministry officials said yesterday the number of confirmed polio cases had by Wednesday risen to 89.
