World Report: March 5, 2004 Vol. 9 Iss. 19
- This Issue:
- Table of Contents
- Cover Story
- Cover Story - Spanish Version
- Mini-Lesson
- Comprehension Quiz
- Teacher's Guide and Worksheets
Fighting Polio in Africa
Last Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched a campaign to vaccinate 63 million children. The group sent volunteers to 10 African countries. Its goal: to rid the world of polio, a disease that affects the brain and the spinal cord.
Tens of thousands of volunteers distributed the oral vaccine to as many children as they could. The campaign is part of a 16-year-old global effort, which has reduced the number of new polio cases each year from 350,000 in 1988 to just 1,000 now.
In recent months, polio has again spread through the region. "It would be a tragedy to allow the virus to slip back in now," said Rima Salah, a regional director at UNICEF. WHO will give more immunizations in Africa later this month.
