Over 2.6 mln children immunized against polio in Guinea

Over 2.6 million Guinean children aged below five years have been immunized against polio, thanks to a vast vaccination campaign launched early in the year by the government and its health partners, a senior official said Tuesday.

This disease, which attacks the nervous system and causes paralysis, is always common among children in Guinea's rural areas.

The health minister said in a statement that the vaccination campaign was carried out across the country between Jan. 28 to 31, and covered 100 percent of the target population.

To achieve the results, over 2,000 supervisors were mobilized to monitor 12,000 vaccination clerks who had been recruited across the country.

However, according to a UNICEF report, some of the vaccination teams received resistance from some families, especially in the remote regions.

To overcome the resistance, key members of families that resisted the vaccination campaign were identified and sensitized on the benefits of immunization against polio. Enditem