Rich Muslim countries must fund fight against polio where it is 'endemic'
Last updated at 15:20pm on 15th June 2007
127 million children need immunisation in Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan
Rich Muslim countries have been told they must donate generously - and quickly - to help fellow Muslims fight polio in Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Health ministers at the Organization of the Islamic Conference have said the crippling disease is endemic in the three countries.
Eradicating "polio is an urgent priority" for the 57 member states of the world's main Muslim bloc, the ministers said at the end of a three-day conference.
And member states should provide the "political, religious and financial support that is needed to achieve this goal".
Polio, which causes paralysis of limbs, has been eradicated in most parts of the world but remains endemic in Nigeria, Pakistan, Afghanistan - all OIC members - and India, where it afflicts mainly Muslim populations.
Ismail Merican, director-general of the Malaysian Health Ministry, said $540 million (£413 million) is needed to immunize 127 million children in the three countries in 2007 and 2008.
"We urge the OIC countries to donate and help out other Muslim countries," he said.
Any donations would be voluntary, he added.
False rumours that the vaccine could cause infertility, spread AIDS and was not halal - did not conform to Islamic guidelines - caused a setback for the polio immunization drive in Nigeria in 2003.
Vaccinations were suspended for 11 months after hard-line Islamic preachers told parents they were dangerous and part of a U.S. plot against Muslims.
The World Health Organization cited the Nigerian boycott for setting back plans for global eradication. A polio outbreak in Africa subsequently spread to the Middle East.
The anti-polio drive in the region straddling the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan has been hindered by fighting between Islamic militants and Afghan and foreign forces that has prevented health workers from visiting the area.
OIC ministers urged all political and religious leaders of member nations to raise awareness about the safety and benefits of polio vaccinations.
Polio is not the only health concern in OIC countries. The ministers noted that more than a third of the world's children who have not received basic vaccinations at birth - amounting to 9.9 million infants - are in OIC member states.
The ministers also urged OIC members to introduce stronger tobacco control legislation to protect people from cigarette smoke's "devastating health, social and economic consequences". |
