UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund

Published purpose

(September 2013) Already home to one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world, Somalia is currently facing its first outbreak of polio since 2007. So far in 2013, 108 cases of the disease have been reported in Somalia, as well as 12 in the Somali refugee camps in Kenya and 1 in the neighbouring Somali region of Ethiopia. The existence of at least 1 million unvaccinated children in strife-torn southern Somalia, combined with the high mobility of Somali populations between Somalia and its neighbours, make this a potentially explosive situation which could pose a threat to the entire east Africa region. In part with Canadian support, UNICEF is helping to prevent a potentially catastrophic outbreak of polio amongst the already extremely vulnerable Somali population and, by so doing, preventing the further spread of the disease throughout the rest of the east Africa region. Specific project activities include: the procurement and distribution of polio vaccine; several rounds of immunization activities targeting unvaccinated children; a social mobilization campaign to raise awareness and encourage communities to accept the vaccine; and the rehabilitation of the 'cold chain' infrastructure in Somalia to facilitate routine immunization.