On eve of trip to Nigeria, UNICEF chief calls on government to end polio

On the eve of her three-day mission to Nigeria, home to 90 per cent of all polio cases in Africa, the chief of the United Nations agency for youngsters today called on the government to mobilize resources to protect children against the debilitating disease.

“The task before us is simple – get the vaccine to every child. Nigeria’s leaders have taken on this task, with all its challenges, and they have achieved astonishing results. Now it’s time for them to finish the job. Nigerian children have had enough of polio,” UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Carol Bellamy said.

During her visit, Ms. Bellamy is expected to discuss with President Olusegun Obasanjo and other key officials strategies for halting the spread of polio, particularly in the heavily affected northern state of Kano.

Ms. Bellamy is also scheduled to attend the launch of an initiative to accelerate the enrolment of girls into school. While Nigeria continues to make strides towards getting all its children into school, UNICEF estimates that 3.2 million children have never entered a classroom. Of these, 67 per cent are female.

UNICEF and its partners support programmes to eradicate polio, which remains in only seven countries in the entire world.