|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 8 September 2002 |
 |
|
 |
News |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
NGOs, Health Department aim for polio free world by Carol Aloysius Several non governmental organisations have linked hands with the Department of Health Services to help Sri Lanka achieve the global target of a polio free world in the near future. Sri Lanka's Expanded Immunisation Program (EPI) has been described as one of the greatest successes in the history of the Health Services in the country. At present, more than 95 percent of children in the country have been immunised against poliomyelitis. "Our future immunisation programs will be targeting children in high risk areas where immunisation coverage is relatively low, and the population is in transit and thus hard to reach", a health ministry spokesman said. According to a press release by the Department of Health, the last case of polio was detected in late 1993. In 1988 the country joined in the world-wide initiative to eradicate poliomyelitis and during the last five years one of the strategies used as part of the eradication initiative was to conduct National Immunisation Days islandwide. "Now that our target has almost been reached, it will no longer be necessary to hold National Immunisation programs. Instead we will be conducting Sub-National Immunisation Days in high risk areas where immunisation is relatively low, and where the population is in transit and it is thus difficult to reach the beneficiaries", states the release. "This is especially important in view of the risk of importation of cases from neighbouring polio-endemic countries", it adds. To this end, the Health Services Department will conduct immunisation programs in the North and the East on September 28 and October 26. The districts selected for immunisation coverage on these two days are: Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, Mannar and Mullaitivu in the North and Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Ampara and Kalmunai in the East. So if you are a parent of a child under five years living in any of the districts mentioned, keep the dates free. You can save your child from a life threatening and crippling disease simply by making sure he or she receives two doses of Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) on these two days, irrespective of previous immunisation status. The Sub-National Immunisation program is being conducted by the Department of Health Services in collaboration with the WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International and other national and international organisations. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
