Japan helps finance anti-polio drive

JAKARTA: The Japanese government says it will provide around US$1.8 million worth of grant aid to help finance Indonesia's anti-polio drive.

A statement from the Embassy of Japan in Jakarta issued on Tuesday said that the funds would be channeled via the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) for the purpose of preventing an outbreak of poliomyelitis.

The government launched a massive anti-polio drive when the first cases were confirmed in May of this year. For a decade prior to that the country had been declared free of polio.

Late last month, health officers launched a polio vaccination program in 33 provinces across the country targeting some 24 million children under five. A similar program will be launched later this month.

The anti-polio drive is being closely monitored by other countries in the region, which fear the disease could spread, risking the achievement of the global target of ridding the world of polio by the end of 2005. --JP