GCC commends Yemen's anti-Polio campaigns

A senior GCC official Saturday commended Yemen's achievement in eradicating Polio thus declaring the country Polio-free in July 2009. Dr. Tawfiq Khoja, Executive Manager of the GCC Health Ministers' Council, made the remarks during a meeting of the Gulf Committee on Infectious Diseases. He said the health ministers in the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) decided to provide support for the Yemeni health ministry to continue its vaccination campaigns against Polio in line with a clear executive plan. Yemeni health undersecretary Dr. Ahmad Al-Junaid said his country has exerted tremendous efforts over the past years to eradicate Polio, which broke out in 2005 in the western Al-Hudaida province. Yemen's cooperation with international organizations and the GCC contributed to declaring the country Polio-free in 2009, he said. "The threat of Polio virus has not disappear because Polio virus exist in some of the African Horn countries from which refugees come to Yemen with large numbers," warned Al-Junaid. This, he went on, required caution and organization of anti-Polio campaigns natinowide.