New Scheme to Eradicate Polio in Africa

[FlyingKiwi]

Polio has been all but eliminated in the developed world, but unfortunately is still a major problem in a large amount of the African continent. A new scheme has just been launched to hopefully eradicate the virus, or at least reduce its commonality significantly.

Africa polio eradication scheme launched



The campaign will target children under the
age of five in 19 countries

A campaign has been launched to eradicate polio in west and central Africa, targeting 85 million children.

Some 400,000 health workers and volunteers will go from door-to-door in 19 countries, giving oral polio vaccine to children under the age of five.

Africa has made significant progress in the fight against polio, which attacks the nervous system, but the virus has still not been stamped out.

Previous efforts at eradication failed as too few children were vaccinated.

The effort is a joint campaign by the Red Cross and United Nations.

Many analysts believe the key to its success lies with Nigeria.

In the past, campaigns in the north of the country were met with suspicion by religious leaders, some of whom even suggested the vaccinations were an attempt to spread sterility and HIV.

But religious groups are now showing support for vaccination drives, and correspondents say there is optimism that the debilitating, sometimes fatal, virus can be eradicated.

One problem that the article mentioned is that in the more remote places, there is a lot of misinformation with many people being afraid of the vaccinations due to a perception that they may in fact be causing harm rather than curing it. Probably as more people successfully receive the vaccination this fear will subsist.

Source

[Ultros]

One problem that the article mentioned is that in the more remote places, there is a lot of misinformation with many people being afraid of the vaccinations due to a perception that they may in fact be causing harm rather than curing it. Probably as more people successfully receive the vaccination this fear will subsist.

Once again, ridiculous African superstitions are impeding legitimate progress on the Continent. It's quite depressing really.

[Tabula Rasa]

Once again, ridiculous African superstitions are impeding legitimate progress on the Continent. It's quite depressing really.

It's a shame they're demanding the right to refuse vaccinations, sounds ridiculous doesn't it?

[FlyingKiwi]

Well, you have to remember, unfortunately a lot of people there have access to only limited education (and in some of the more remote areas, nothing at all) and the result is that people are willing to believe things that seem ridiculous in most of the rest of the world.

Eventually, this will change as education facilities become more accessible, either through physical or electronic means, but the question is how soon it will be.