Indonesia declares itself polio-free<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesia, keeping up with other countries in the region in
\ncombating the deadly disease, declared on Tuesday that it was a
\npolio-free nation and will receive certification of this status
\nfrom the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2005.<\/p>\n
Minister of Health Achmad Suyudi said that the polio-free
\ncertification would be granted by WHO to countries that manage to
\neradicate the polio virus -- a virus capable of incapacitating or
\nkilling children under 15 years old.<\/p>\n
"I am optimistic that Indonesia will achieve the certification
\nas the national immunization drive has been successful," he said.<\/p>\n
A total of 20.7 million children under five years old were
\nvaccinated last year, 107 percent of the target set earlier.<\/p>\n
The minister warned, however, that despite the fact that
\nIndonesia was free from polio, people should remain cautious
\ngiven that the disease could break out at any time in the future.<\/p>\n
"That is why Indonesia has to wait until 2005 to receive
\ncertification from WHO," the minister said at a meeting to
\ndissolve the committee of the 2002 national immunization drive.<\/p>\n
Speaking on the same occasion, Director General Umar Fahmi of
\nthe Eradication of Contagious Diseases and Sanitation at the
\nMinistry of Health said the polio immunization campaign had been
\nconducted simultaneously throughout 30 provinces, covering 67,718
\nvillages. The campaign, initiated in September 2002, coincided
\nwith other health programs of the ministry, such as the vitamin A
\nsupplementation program in August and the measles vaccination
\nprogram in October.<\/p>\n
The campaign, involving 7,306 puskesmas (community health
\ncenters) and about 250,000 immunization posts, was the second of
\nits kind since 1997.<\/p>\n
"In fact, the first campaign in 1997 had gotten rid of polio,
\nbut the vaccination drive was again taken in 2002, because India,
\nwhich is geographically close to our country, still carries
\npolio," the minister explained.<\/p>\n
Suyudi noted that the political and economic crisis which hit
\nthe country in late 1997 had hampered the fight against polio.<\/p>\n
Pointing to the important role played by posyandu (community
\nhealth posts) in procuring the vaccines, he said, "This program
\nwas also designed to revitalize the functions of posyandu, which
\nwere initiated by the ministry and thrived under the
\nadministration of former president Soeharto."<\/p>\n
The ministry encountered some problems during the vaccination
\ncampaign which needed to be addressed, such as time constraints
\nfor preparations, delays in fund channeling, and incompleteness
\nof reports from the majority of provincial committees.<\/p>\n
The campaign, despite its shortcomings, managed to achieve
\npositive results in conflict areas such as Aceh, Maluku and
\nPapua.<\/p>\n
Data from the ministry shows that vaccination targets reached
\n109.3 percent and 78.3 percent respectively for Maluku and Papua,
\nwhile in Aceh, the figure stood at 102.5 percent.<\/p>\n
The entire campaign, which cost Rp 119 million (US$13
\nmillion), was jointly sponsored by the Indonesian government,
\nWHO, Unicef (United Nations Children's Emergency Fund), USAID
\n(United States Agency for International Development), Helen
\nKeller International and Rotary International.<\/p>\n
Other parties that participated in the implementation of the
\ncampaign were institutions such as non-governmental organizations
\n(NGOs), as well as state-owned and private companies.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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