Forum on Polio Eradication in Africa
Dakar, Dec 11 (RHC) Cuba is an example of the vaccination against polio and was present at the Forum on Immunization and Eradication of that disease in Africa that was held in Dakar, capital of Senegal, diplomatic sources reported Sunday.
The ambassador of the Caribbean nation in Dakar, Maydolis Sosa, participated in the event attended by heads of state of the continent, health professionals, researchers and analysts on the subject.
During the meeting, Macky Sall, president of the African Union, urged the continent's governments to reinforce child vaccination campaigns against polio.
"Immunization saves lives and is effective in preventing human suffering," said the President of Senegal at the opening of the Forum.
The pro tempore leader of the organization sent a message to heads of state to reaffirm their support for the Addis Ababa Declaration on Immunization, adopted in 2017, this is necessary, he said, because health threats, both old and new, continue to proliferate.
The attendees agreed that although the World Health Organization declared Africa free of that disease in 2020, some outbreaks still appear in under-immunized communities, moreover, because of the interruption of vaccination campaigns due to the COVID-19 pandemic tens of millions of children did not receive the drug.
Poliomyelitis is an infectious disease, caused by a virus, which has no cure. Some symptoms include fever, fatigue, vomiting, and headache, and can cause, in some cases, paralysis of the limbs.
Until the 1950s, it was endemic throughout the world and caused a large number of amputations and disabilities, but thanks to the vaccine discovered in 1950 it could be eradicated in different regions such as Europe, America, and Africa.
Forum on Polio Eradication in Africa
In the case of Cuba, after the triumph of the Revolution, the government prioritized vaccination against poliomyelitis in 1960, and despite the limitations imposed by the U.S. blockade on the sector, in 1995 it received the Certification of Polio Eradication by the Pan American Health Organization. (Source: Prensa Latina).
