The United States Supports Eradication of Polio in Ethiopia

April 5, 2005 
No. 13/05

$2 Million Provided for National Immunizations Days

Addis Ababa (U.S. Embassy) – The United States Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing $2 million through the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Africa in response to efforts by the Government of Ethiopia to immunize against polio 14.7 million children less than 5 years of age in 2005.
This new support is in addition to the $25 million in the past seven years that the United States, through USAID and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), has given to support Ethiopia’s efforts to eradicate polio.

While Ethiopia had been polio-free since January 2001, a polio outbreak in Sudan (which has affected 132 Sudanese children since May 2004) has spread into Ethiopia, with the World Health Organization having confirmed two cases of polio in Tigray in February 2005.

To address the recent polio outbreak, the Ministry of Health has announced two rounds of National Immunization Days (NIDs) campaigns.  The first round is taking place April 1-5, 2005, while the second round will take place in late May. These campaigns are key to containing transmission within Ethiopia and to preventing exportation to other countries.