Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Fides Service) - Ten are the planetary emergencies to which a world action plan for governments will try to find solutions. One of these, infective diseases, will be dealt with in Geneva from 17 to 22 May by the annual meeting of ministers from the 192 nation members of the World Health Organisation WHO.
In 1988 WHO and UNICEF launched an anti-polio campaign to eliminate the disease by 2003. Initial results were positive, then six months ago the campaign became an emergency. In fact in 2002 in some states of India Muslim women refused to open the door to vaccine campaign volunteers because they were men. That year polio returned to Pakistan and Bangladesh and in the world there were 1,918 cases; in Nigeria there were 355 of the 748 cases registered in Africa in 2003 and almost 200 in eight bordering countries which three years ago WHO declared polio free. In April this year a case of polio was registered in Botswana the first since 1991.
The people ask for clean water, sewers, a school a piece of land and they die mainly of respiratory infections (3.9 million every year), AIDS (2.9), infantile diarrhoea (1,9), TB (1.6) or malaria (1.1). (AP) (4/5/2004 Agenzia Fides; Righe:19; Parole:218)
