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April 15, 2002

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Afghan Health Chiefs Bid to Wipe Out Polio by End of Year" Agence France Presse (www.afp.com/english/home) (04/15/02)

Over 7 million children are being targeted by an ambitious polio vaccine campaign being launched today in Afghanistan, in hopes of eradicating the disease by year-end.  An estimated 60,000 medical personnel and volunteers, including 20,000 women, plan to take part in the campaign targeting children up to five years of age. The campaign is being supported by UNICEF and will include four rounds of vaccinations, with two this spring and two in the fall. The program will include home visits by health teams as well as the vaccination of nomadic and displaced children.

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