Anti-Polio Campaign Targets Four Million Children

This article describes a 3-day national anti-polio campaign in Yemen that began on December 15 2007. This date was chosen to coincide with the Hajj pilgrimage, during which over 2 million Muslims from across Africa and the Middle East travel to Mecca, Saudi Arabia's holy city. Yemen's Ministry of Health is hoping to minimise the threat of poliovirus transmission amongst pilgrims by vaccinating all children under the age of five within the country. In order to accomplish this feat, 18,000 mobile vaccination teams were tasked to travel door-to-door to 2.5 million homes across the country, and another 2,000 teams were set to work in fixed vaccination centres.

In addition to the vaccination rounds, Yemen's polio eradication initiative has been distributing posters, leaflets, and banners in order to keep awareness of the disease and acceptance of vaccination high throughout the country. At the date of publication, Yemen had maintained its polio-free status for 22 months. The Ministry of Health is supported in these efforts by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).