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Mrs Susanne Mubarak, celebrates a Polio-Free Egypt with WHO and partners
Yesterday, at a celebration held under the auspices of and attended by H.E Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, the First Lady of Egypt, the World Health Organization officially declared Egypt a polio-free country almost 2 years after the last confirmed polio case was detected in Assiut in May 2004.
Mrs Mubarak hailed the achievement as a landmark in Egypt’s history and an important milestone in its own record of achievements. The First Lady praised the great efforts over many years of thousands of health workers and their leaders in the Ministry of Health at all levels. She also praised the efforts of the international and national nongovernmental organizations that worked hand in hand with Egypt to achieve this success.
The successful eradication of polio from Egypt was declared in the opening speech that Mrs Mubarak delivered on Wednesday 8 March in the evening at its Regional Office, during the celebration organized by the World Health Organization. This success means that Egypt is no longer considered a polio endemic country.
In the celebration attended by a large number of senior officials, public figures, media personnel, representatives of national, regional and international organizations and ambassadors of countries that have cooperated with Egypt in the drive to eradicate polio, Dr Hussein A. Gezairy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, congratulated Egypt and H E Mrs Suzanne Mubarak on this great achievement, confirming that her personal dedication and strong support were of great impact and had played a major role in achieving a polio-free Egypt. Dr Gezairy said that Egypt’s fight against polio was long and harsh and that stopping circulation of the virus in Egypt had proved a real challenge and was a massive contribution to the Global Programme for Polio Eradication.
In his opening speech, Dr Hatem Algabali, Minister of Health and Population confirmed that polio eradication was a national goal that had required orchestrated efforts from all sectors and partners, requiring innovative and untraditional strategies and involving all forces of society. This resulted in the decrease of confirmed polio cases to the point when the last case was detected in May 2004. Highlighting the magnitude of efforts exerted to reach the eradication goal, Dr Algabali pointed out that Egypt had invested more than 300 million pounds in polio activities and that more than 100 000 health workers and nurses, and 10 000 volunteers had participated in the polio immunization campaigns. He thanked WHO and all partners for their effective role in eradicating polio from Egypt.
During her address, Dr Erma Manoncourt, UNICEF Representative in Egypt, highlighted Egypt’s success in eradicating polio, confirming that such an achievement would not only benefit the children of Egypt but also the children of the whole world. She said that the Ministry of Health had every reason to be proud of their staff and their sincere efforts in reaching such a notable achievement. She praised the Egyptian experience as an example to be followed by other countries where the circulation of polio virus still poses a threat. Dr Manoncourt expressed gratitude for the partnership that was inspired by the dedication and commitment of Mrs Mubarak.
Dr Orshek Balken, Representative of Rotary International pointed out that Rotary International had been an active member of the international alliance for polio eradication since the 1980s. The financial contribution of Rotary International amounted to 600 million dollars, in addition to its advocacy role in urging governments to sponsor the initiative and support polio eradication activities.
Dr Balken confirmed that the interagency committee of partners in Egypt would continue working together to sustain the achievement. In this respect, he stressed the importance of continuing immunization activities until the whole world is declared poliofree.
The history of polio in Egypt includes records going back thousands of years, the first record of a case being depicted more than 3000 years ago on a Pharaonic stela. Until the early 1980s, polio was highly endemic in Egypt, with an estimated 10 000 to 15 000 cases occurring every year. During the past few decades, the Egyptian government has exerted many efforts to control this disabling disease. However, poor environmental sanitation in some areas and the very high population density allowed the virus to persist in Egypt beyond the experience of other countries.
1988 was a turning point in the history of the fight against polio in Egypt. In this year Egypt endorsed the global polio eradication initiative. Subsequently, polio eradication activities rapidly intensified. Including, in addition to routine immunization, the organization of annual national immunization days targeting all children under 5 years and the establishment of a surveillance system to detect and investigate all cases with paralysis. The most effective vaccination strategies were adopted to suit the geographic and environmental conditions in Egypt, such as delivering immunization on a house –to– house basis. These immunization activities were accompanied by an effective media strategy to increase public awareness and empower the civil society, while seeking the help of religious leaders and celebrities.
Through tens of thousands of health workers, nurses and volunteers, it was possible to reach out to all villages, satellites areas, slum areas, remote areas and major cities, resulting in an immunization rate exceeding 95% and reaching all children under 5 years. Parents’ health awareness and their collaboration with immunization teams, as well as their keenness to immunize their children, played an essential role in making the campaigns a success.
Many international partners worked closely with the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population. Among these were the World Health Organization, UNICEF, Rotary International, USAID, CDC Atlanta, the Japanese Government and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The Technical Advisory Group for Polio Eradication in Egypt provided guidance and strategic direction to the programme. They have helped to make the Egyptian experience with polio an exemplary role model for those countries that are still polio– endemic, such as Pakistan and Afghanistan, and those where the poliovirus has spread after being re-introduced namely, Yemen, Sudan and Somalia. Meanwhile, it is of vital importance to maintain population immunity at a high level through routine immunization and to continue high-quality campaigns until the virus is completely eradicated and the entire world is declared polio-free.
New report calls attention to health threat from indoor air pollution
Every day for the next 10 years, 485 000 people would need to gain access to cleaner fuels in order to halve by 2015 the population relying on solid fuels. A new report from the World Health Organization, Fuel for Life: Household Energy and Health, demonstrates that investing in cleaner household fuels can yield a seven-fold economic benefit in health and productivity gains..
Cooking with wood, dung, coal and other solid fuels on open fires or simple stoves is a daily reality for more than half of the world's population. This leads to high levels of indoor air pollution, a major risk factor for pneumonia among children and chronic respiratory disease among adults. Globally, pneumonia remains the single most important child killer and is responsible for two million deaths a year.
Every year, the killer in the kitchen is responsible for 1.5 million deaths. Sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia are particularly affected, with 396 000 and 483 000 annual deaths, respectively. Indoor air pollution also disproportionately affects women and children. In 2002, cooking with solid fuels was responsible for nearly 800 000 deaths among children and more than 500 000 deaths among women.
The good news is that effective solutions are available. Liquefied petroleum gas, biogas and other cleaner fuels represent the healthiest alternative. Switching from a traditional stove to an improved stove substantially reduces indoor smoke.
"Making cleaner fuels and improved stoves available to millions of poor people in developing countries will reduce child mortality and improve women's health," said Dr LEE Jong-wook, WHO Director-General. "In addition to the health gains, household energy programmes can help lift families out of poverty and accelerate development progress."
On average, 100 million more homes using liquefied petroleum gas, biogas or modern fuels for cooking would lead to 473 million fewer women, children and men exposed to harmful indoor air pollution, and 282 thousand fewer deaths from respiratory diseases per year.
The economic case for adopting practical solutions on a large scale is just as strong as the humanitarian case. For as little as six dollars, families can install better ventilated and fuel efficient stoves. A total cost of 13 billion dollars per year to halve the number of people worldwide cooking with solid fuels by 2015 shows a payback of 91 billion dollars per year, highlights the report. Making improved stoves available to half of those still burning biomass fuels and coal on traditional stoves would save USD 34 billion in fuel expenditure every year, and generate an economic return of USD 105 billion every year over a 10 year period.
The majority of these costs are borne at the household level which is also where the majority of the benefits occur. Nevertheless, donor investments are required upfront for designing appropriate technologies, setting up local businesses, and putting micro-credit systems in place. Developing energy infrastructure in this way would not only mean less illness and death but also less time spent ill, collecting fuel and cooking. With more time available, children would do better at school, while their mothers could engage in childcare, agriculture or other income-generating activities as a way to break the vicious cycle of poverty.
"It is a travesty that 1.5 million lives a year - many of those of children whose lives have not even started - are snuffed out every year because of needless exposure to indoor smoke. We have simple, affordable solutions; let us ensure that they reach the people who can benefit from - and live by - using them," said Dr Maria Neira, WHO's Director for Public Health and Environment.
Some low-income countries with enormous financial constraints are already responding to the challenge, and programmes are operating effectively and producing results. The same commitment needs to be replicated worldwide.
The problem of indoor air pollution has been around since the Stone Age, yet international development agendas fail to recognize that missing out on clean energy equals missing out on life. Today's report provides an overview of the global situation on indoor air pollution, and calls for vigorous action to close the household energy gap by developing energy infrastructure to meet basic household needs in a healthy, safe and sustainable way.
Fuel for Life: Household Energy and Health will be launched at a press briefing at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, United Nations Press Centre in New York, and simultaneously in Geneva, at the United Nations Headquarters.
The report is available online at the following web-sites: www.who.int and www.who.int/indoorair/en
Guinea Worm Eradication Meeting 25 May 2006, Geneva
On 25 May 2006, during the 59th WHA a meeting took place involving 16 Ministers of Health or their representatives from Guinea worm affected countries, together with WHO and its partners, UNICEF, The Carter Center to take stock of progress achieved towards freeing the world of this disabling disease by the end of 2009.
Guinea worm disease is caused by the largest tissue parasite in humans. It is contracted when people drink water contaminated by small copepods transmitting the disease. After approximately 1 year after infection, the adult female worm, which can measure up to one metre, emerges at the skin surface causing severe pain and disability.
Eradication of Guinea worm is in its final stage. The number of cases has dropped from nearly 1 million in the late 1980s to less than 11'000 in 2005. Out of the 20 countries that were endemic at the beginning of the programme in 1980, 11 have interrupted transmission and 4 more are currently reporting less than 100 cases per year. Three countries, Ghana, Mali and Sudan reported over 95% of the world's total number of cases in 2005. Progress achieved in these countries in the coming years will determine the overall chances of success of the eradication effort.
All representatives of Guinea worm affected countries renewed their commitment towards reaching the 2009 target, but insisted that adequate resources be mobilized until the final goal is reached. "We cannot relax until the last worm has been killed" said Dr Don Hopkins, Associate Executive Director of Health Programmes at the Carter Center, USA.
Of the 9 remaining endemic countries, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia are expected to interrupt transmission by the end of 2006, and Côte d'Ivoire, Niger, Nigeria and Togo by the end of 2007. The remaining three countries, Ghana, Mali and Sudan, are expected to interrupt transmission by 2009. If this plan is achieved, all countries can be certified free of disease transmission by 2012.
Dr Tabita Shukai, Minister of Health of Sudan highlighted the new opportunities for accelerating the efforts to eradicate the disease in post-war Sudan, whereas Professor Akosa, Director General of the Ghana Health Service, made a personal commitment towards fighting the disease in Ghana. Mme Maiga Zeinab Mint Youba, Minister of Health of Mali highlighted the challenges to bring safe water to the people living in the last endemic area shared by Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Dr Sambo, Director of the WHO Regional office for Africa praised the progress made, the strong commitments of all countries and partners in the Guinea worm eradication effort and promised increased support by WHO towards the programme until all countries are freed from the disease.
Dr Gezairy, Director of the WHO Regional office for the Eastern Mediterranean, praised the progress made in this eradication programme, but insisted on the need to sustain resources and continue efforts - in providing clean water and in strengthening the health system for surveillance which should also benefit all other diseases - and proposed regular cross-border meetings and yearly reporting on progress in Guinea worm eradication to the WHA. Both Regional Directors acknowledged the personal commitment and support of President Carter and Mrs Carter towards Guinea worm eradication efforts.
