CERF allocates $2 million for Poliomyelitis vaccine in Congo

In response to the poliomyelitis outbreak in the Congo, CERF has allocated $2 million dollars to three nation-wide emergency immunization campaigns targeting the whole population of 4.1 million people. In order to reduce the loss of lives and the incidence of paralysis, the project will consist of a comprehensive outbreak investigation, support for the local government in planning and implementing the immunization campaigns, and a communications campaign to disseminate approved messages. Some $1.3 million has been allocated to the United Nations Children's Fund which will support social mobilization strategies. $700,000 has been allocated to the World Health Organization (WHO) for nationwide emergency vaccination campaigns using fixed, outreach, and mobile vaccination strategies.

Although polio had been largely eradicated around the world, 23 countries have been re-infected between 2009 and 2010. The new outbreak in the Congo, first reported on October 1, 2010, has resulted in 476 infections and 180 deaths. Sixty per cent of the affected population consisted of young men and women between the ages of 15 and 29. At its peak, the fatality rate for the disease reached 47 per cent. This is the first outbreak of polio in the Congo since 2000.