Soeharto launches national anti-polio drive

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto launched yesterday a national anti-polio drive which aims to immunize 21.7 million Indonesian children below the age of five.

The President expressed the hope that all children younger than five will be taken to their local immunization posts to receive the polio vaccine.

"I also hope that, through the immunization program, the next generation of Indonesians will be healthier, more qualified and free from the effects of the polio virus," said Soeharto before dropping some vaccine into the mouths of several infants, including three of his own grandchildren, in a ceremony at his Jl. Cendana residence.

These first vaccinations of the program were followed by others, as First Lady Tien Soeharto and a number of cabinet ministers proceeded to put vaccine into other children's mouths.

While the ceremony was in progress, the campaign was also beginning at 275,000 immunization posts across the country. The posts have been established in every Indonesian neighborhood, public heath center, hospital, bus terminal and kindergarten.

The six-day campaign involves 825,000 people to administer the vaccine, together with 90,000 supervisors drawn from the Family Welfare Movement, social organizations, the scouts and teachers. Both those people administering the vaccine and the supervisors underwent training several months ago.

The vaccine was produced by the state-owned pharmaceutical company PT Biofarma in Bandung, which has exported products to other countries.

The scene at the Presidential residence was extraordinary, as most of the 26 children vaccinated there cried and refused to swallow the vaccine.

Order was only restored after Rano Karno and Mandra, two actors from the popular television serial Si Doel Anak Sekolahan stepped in to persuade them to accept the vaccine.

The two actors were invited as part of a TV promotion of the immunization campaign.

Minister of Health Sujudi said that in Java and Bali all children can be immunized within two days, while in other provinces it will take a week because of the larger number of isolated areas.

He said that children not brought to the immunization posts will be reached by the campaign workers.

"The immunization will not weaken the children who have been vaccinated... It is to strengthen their immunity," Sujudi said.

He said the children would not suffer side effects from the vaccination.

Sujudi said that children's level of immunity will still be low after the current program and urged their parents to ensure their participation in the second program, which will be held between Oct. 18 and 24. The vaccination campaign will be repeated next year and again in 1997, with the aim of completely eradicating polio in Indonesia before the year 2000.

The health ministry has prepared 64 million doses of the anti- polio vaccine for all the programs.

According to ministry data, in 1992 there were 108 cases of polio in Indonesia. The number decreased to 23 in 1993 and 15 in 1994.

In Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, yesterday Kokila Vaidya of the World Health Organization told Antara that the anti-polio drive would not be a success without the people's participation.

"Everybody has to take part in the program in order to eradicate polio in this country," he said.

He said that if all Indonesian children receive the vaccine, by the year 2000 the country will be free from polio.

"The program will improve children's health and will increase the quality of human resources in the future," he said.

According to Vaidya, the same campaign will be conducted all over the world, especially in countries which up to now have not pursued the international agency's commitment to eradicate polio.

"The agency has tried to eradicate polio from the face of the earth, as it did to eradicate measles," he said.

Meanwhile the Mission Aviation Fellowship, a missionary organization of the United States, has lent support to the campaign by providing light aircraft to reach isolated areas in East Kalimantan.

The news agency also reported that the Air Force has helped transport the vaccine to isolated areas.

Pasariboe, an official of the East Kalimantan health office, said that 11.2 percent of the province's population is very difficult to reach. Most of the areas presenting difficulties are located along the border between Indonesia and Malaysia. (05)

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