ASIA/BANGLADESH-National campaign of vaccination against polio for 22 million children

Dhaka (Agenzia Fides) - Mobile health teams, in Bangladesh, are doing a research "child-child" aimed at achieving the remaining half a million children who have not been vaccinated during the national campaign against polio launched last January 7. The goal is to vaccinate 22 million children under 5 years of age. To date, only 560,791 are missing and mobile teams are doing everything possible to track them down. To reach all of them more support and supervision is needed, in particular for those areas most at risk such as the hilly sub-districts, coastal areas, temporary river islands and wetlands. According to a doctor who works with the local NGO Family Planning Association of Bangladesh, who took part in the vaccination campaign, the main challenge now is to reach the children of migrants in the border areas with India, one of the 4 in the world where polio is still endemic. The other three are Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria. Despite the difficulties, the program is proceeding correctly. In Bangladesh, every year since 1995, health professionals have undertaken national vaccination campaigns against polio, except in 2005. Since the last epidemic in 2006 of a virus strain imported, the government reported no infections. The next round of vaccinations in the country is scheduled for 11 February. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 13/01/2012)