[ti:UNICEF Supports a Polio Vaccination Campaign after Case in Malawi]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.04]Officials in southern and eastern Africa
[00:05.16]are working to vaccinate 9 million children against polio
[00:11.44]after a confirmed outbreak in Malawi.
[00:15.88]The emergency campaign began in that country this week.
[00:23.08]Vaccines are being given by mouth
[00:26.36]to children everywhere in the country.
[00:31.24]The United Nations children's agency, UNICEF,
[00:36.04]says the larger goal is to expand the vaccination campaign
[00:42.32]into neighboring Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia.
[00:49.16]UNICEF is working with the governments of those countries
[00:54.12]and other partners in the area.
[00:58.20]Agency officials said there will be three more rounds
[01:03.36]of vaccinations in the coming months.
[01:07.04]The goal is to vaccinate more than 20 million children.
[01:14.00]Mohamed Fall is UNICEF Regional Director
[01:19.12]for Eastern and Southern Africa.
[01:23.12]He said: "This is the first case of wild polio detected in Africa
[01:30.96]for more than five years and UNICEF is working closely
[01:37.32]with governments and partners to do everything possible
[01:43.28]to stop the virus in its tracks."
[01:48.88]UNICEF, the World Health Organization,
[01:52.96]the Global Polio Eradication Initiative
[01:57.36]and other partners are supporting the vaccination campaign.
[02:03.68]It began after doctors confirmed in February
[02:09.00]that wild poliovirus had infected and paralyzed
[02:14.64]a three-year-old in Malawi's capital, Lilongwe.
[02:21.20]Fall warned, "Polio spreads fast
[02:25.04]and can kill or cause permanent paralysis."
[02:29.56]People most commonly contract polio when they drink dirty water.
[02:36.76]The virus can be carried in human waste.
[02:41.44]Children under the age of five
[02:44.40]and those living in areas with poor sanitation are most at risk.
[02:51.60]Fall considers the shared effort
[02:54.36]by neighboring countries as critical, noting,
[02:59.08]"There is no cure for polio, but the vaccine protects children for life."
[03:06.72]"We are working," he added, "to make sure parents,
[03:11.08]as well as community and religious leaders,
[03:14.72]know how important it is that every child receives their vaccine."
[03:22.52]UNICEF has more than 36 million treatments of the polio vaccine
[03:29.16]for the first two rounds of immunizations
[03:32.96]in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia.
[03:39.56]In Malawi, UNICEF is providing 270 new vaccine refrigerators
[03:47.44]and is repairing others.
[03:50.08]The agency is also supplying temperature measurement devices,
[03:56.40]vaccine carriers and cold storage containers.
[04:02.32]In partnership with the World Health Organization,
[04:06.88]UNICEF has trained 13,500 health workers and volunteers,
[04:14.84]34 area health officers and 50 religious leaders.
[04:22.68]In Mozambique, the children's agency
[04:26.48]is helping supply vaccines to local stores.
[04:31.64]It also assists in training programs
[04:35.72]about vaccine use for thousands of supervisors,
[04:40.76]health workers and media providers.
[04:46.00]UNICEF is deploying similar efforts in Tanzania and Zambia.
[04:55.16]I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM