US calls eradication of polio a key policy objective

Washington, Oct 11 (UNI) The United States has called for "commitment, cooperation and community involvement," to eradicate polio which continues to occur naturally in India and three other countries - Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan.

The eradication of polio is "a key foreign policy objective and one of the Bush administration's highest international public health priorities," US Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky said in a speech at George Washington University here.

The occurrence of polio has declined 99 per cent since the 1980s after the launch of a major effort to increase immunizations among children worldwide to protect them from the crippling disease.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) aspired to wipe out the disease by 2005, but the virus continues to occur naturally in Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan. Ten other nations in which polio once was eradicated have reported cases this year, a situation attributed to poor implementation of immunization programmes which allows the virus to travel from endemic countries to places where it was thought to have been eradicated.

"To continue the battle against the disease, diplomacy must reinforce public health action," Dobriansky said, calling for a renewed and strengthened commitment from the international community.

She said, "we must fight what may be fatigue, waning enthusiasm and decreased financial support among some donors." The United States has contributed 28 per cent of the 5 billion dollars so far allocated to GPEI, including 132 million dollars this year alone.Dobriansky said the Bush administration would work with international partners to attempt to raise further resources for the cause.

"Local political and religious figures have a crucial role to play in disseminating helpful information, dispelling myths, and instilling confidence regarding immunization," she said.

As of October 4, GPEI reported 1,353 cases of polio so far in 2006, compared to about 1,273 in the same period of 2005. Nigeria is the most seriously stricken nation in 2006, with almost 850 cases.

UNI XC SP KN0940