Equatorial Guinea Leads Polio Immunization Campaign Throughout Continental Region

MALABO, Equatorial Guinea, April 17, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Secretary of State for Public Health in Equatorial Guinea, Práxedes Rabat Macambo, led an informational meeting from the country's continental region (also known as Rio Muni or Mbini) to brief healthcare providers on the polio immunization campaign that will be launched next week. The campaign is aimed at vaccinating the nation's children against polio following two recent outbreaks.

The purpose of the meeting was to provide information to hospital managers, health centers managers and vaccination program leaders about the three phases of the polio preventive campaign the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare will lead on April 21.

Next week, the first phase of the preventive campaign, sponsored by the government of Equatorial Guinea, WHO, UNICEF and others, will treat children up to fifteen years old. A second phase will take place next month and a third in June.

Last month, the government created a crisis committee to search for immediate solutions to prevent the spread of polio infection in Equatorial Guinea. The result was the upcoming immunization campaign.

About Equatorial Guinea
The Republic of Equatorial Guinea (República de Guinea Ecuatorial) is the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa, and one of the smallest nations on the continent. In the late-1990s, American companies helped discover the country's oil and natural gas resources, which only within the last five years began contributing to the global energy supply. Equatorial Guinea is now working to serve as a pillar of stability and security in its region of West Central Africa. The country hosted the 2011 Summit of the African Union. For more information, visit http://www.guineaecuatorialpress.com.

SOURCE The Republic of Equatorial Guinea