Havana, April 26 (RHC) -- Cuba launched on Friday the second half of the 53rd National Polio Vaccination Campaign from April 25th to May 1st, which will immunize more than half a million children against the crippling disease.

More than 383,000 children under three years, having received the initial dose in March, will receive a second dose of the oral vaccine, while about 120,000 children aged nine are scheduled to receive a reactivation dose, according to a recent statement by the Ministry of Public Health.

Cuba was the first country in Latin America to declare free of polio in 1962, and the second country in the Western Hemisphere following the United States. Its universal health care system has been lauded by numerous international organizations, such as the United Nations.

Between 1962 and 2013, Cuba has applied more than 83 million doses of the polio vaccine, guaranteeing the protection of the population under 68 years of age.