Polio, which has been crippling and killing millions of children all over the world, is in final stage of retreat, said Stewart McNab the UNICEF country representative in Nepal while speaking at a function on polio immunisation held in the Kathmandu on Wednesday. Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala urged all the political parties to work on a war footing to eradicate polio from the country. "Let us all work like we did during the election," he added. Koirala stressed the role of education in eradication of epidemics in a developing country like Nepal. He expressed the present government’s commitment in complete eradication of polio from Nepal. The intensive National Immunization Day (INID) with the theme - Kick Polio out of Nepal- is going to begin on December 9, targeted to provide polio vaccine to nearly 4 million children all over the country. Nepal started national Polio eradication programme in 1996 and has so far immunized 95 per cent of total child population of Nepal. Polio vaccine is administered to children below the age of five. But, it is believed that there are still 3-5 per cent children yet to be vaccinated against polio.
Under INID, there will be 23,000 immunisation centres and more than 1,00,000 volunteers to effectively administer the vaccine throughout the country. According to a WHO report, 163 countries have so far been successful in wiping out polio virus and have gained the status of polio free nations. Bureau Report