Yellow fever: UN aims to eradicate disease from Africa by 2026
http://www.dw.com/en/yellow-fever-un-aims-to-eradicate-disease-from-africa-by-2026/a-43334904
Yellow fever: UN aims to eradicate disease from Africa by 2026
Date 11.04.2018
Author Chase Winter
Nearly 1 billion people in Africa will be vaccinated against yellow fever by 2026, the UN said on Tuesday. The goal is to eliminate the mosquito-borne viral hemorrhagic disease on the continent.
"With one injection we can protect a person for life against this dangerous pathogen," said World Health Organization (WHO) head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Nigeria's capital Abuja. "This unprecedented commitment by countries will ensure that by 2026 Africa is free of yellow fever epidemics."
The Eliminate Yellow fever Epidemics or EYE strategy is backed by African health ministers, WHO, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), Gavi and more than 50 partners. Almost half those who will be vaccinated are children.
The mass vaccination plan comes after yellow fever outbreaks in densely population areas of Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo killed some 400 people in 2016.
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