The Department of State for Health and Social Welfare (DOSH) on Monday issued a press release informing the general public that the Gambia has been certified as a polio-free country by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

According to the release, this notable achievement in health was made possible through the support and co-operation of parents. The Health Department therefore urged all to continue taking their children for routine immunization exercises.

The Department of State for Health and Social Welfare, in collaboration with development partners, further informed the general public that the national measles campaign conducted from November 27th to December 3rd 2007 has been successfully completed, disclosing that prior to the campaign, the routine measles coverage was 89% and the minimum coverage to qualify for elimination status was 95%. Thus, the release continued, the objective of the campaign was to attain 95% coverage or above in order to put the country on the road to eliminating measles. The target population for the campaign was 252,427 children from 9 to 59 months.

DOSH also disclosed that the campaign has resulted in 96% coverage of measles, 93% for Vitamin A supplementation and 92% for Mebendazole, adding that this coverage is higher than the previous campaign conducted in 2003, which has coverage of 93%.

The Department of State for Health and Social Welfare also extended thanks to UNICEF, WHO, The Gambia Red Cross Society and the National Nutrition Agency (NANA) for providing technical and finance support during the planning and implementation of the 2007 measles campaign.