Even though Yemen has battled Polio for several decades, the disease has resurfaced on account of Yemen’s ongoing influx of refugee from the Horn of Africa, mainly Somalia where many migrants have been found to have contracted the virus.
Ever since 1979 Polio vaccination has been mandatory in Yemen. However, as the state has experienced increased difficulty in controlling population movement and migration, whether or not legal, health experts have since 2011, at the height of Yemen’s political upheaval, called for stricter health regulation and control in order to prevent a repeat of 2005 outbreak, when migrants from Sudan reintroduced the wild poliovirus to Yemen.
As explained by WHO (World Health Organization) Yemen does not have a national polio laboratory and is served instead by Oman's national poliovirus laboratory in Muscat. Even though the acute flaccid paralysis surveillance indicators at national level are maintained at WHO certification standard, WHO retains strong reservation in regards to the country’s ability to serve high-risk governorates, especially in the light of much insecurity and political instability.
Nevertheless officials as the Ministry of Health confirmed they will continue to tackle the poliovirus and prevent its spreads.
Back in August 2013, WHO published a report in which it warned Yemen officials that the impoverished nation stands at great risk since cases of polio were identified in the horn of Africa in May 2013. The report read, “Since then, the virus has spread as Somali refugees moved to neighbouring countries, including Kenya and Yemen. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that 35,876 Somali refugees have fled to Yemen during 2013. To mitigate the risk of polio transmission in Yemen, the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has released US$2,000,492 to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO). UNICEF, with an allocation of $258,405, and WHO, which received $1,742,087, will work together to implement a vaccination campaign targeted at 3 million children under age 5 in high-risk areas. These areas include Aden, Abyan Shabwa, Al Mukalla, Lahj, Taiz, Al Hodaida, Hajjah, Sa’ada, Al Jowf, Amran, Al Baydha and Al Amana.”
A year later and Yemen remains committed to a polio-free population.
The Health Ministry kicked start its national campaign on Thursday. “The three-day campaign targets all children under the age of five, estimated at about 5 million across the country”, Minister of Health Ahmed Qassem al-Ansi told al-Thawra on Thursday.
Officials at the ministry further insisted that Yemen’s new national campaign was prompted by fear that Syrian refugees could carry the virus.