Speeches

Your Excellency, Mr. President; Honorable Minister of Health; Honorable members of the Government; Prefect of the Zou and Collines Regions; Mayor of the city of Bohicon; Members of the Diplomatic Corps; Representatives of International Organizations; Honorable Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen: It is an honor for USAID to be involved in this launching ceremony of the national immunization days and I would like to thank the Beninese authorities for this mark of respect. First and foremost, please allow me to pay tribute to Dr. Lee Jong-Wook, the late Director General of the World Health Organization, who passed away suddenly on May 22, 2006.

Rudolph Thomas, USAID/Benin Mission Director delivering his speech at the launching ceremony.

In the fight against poliomyelitis, Dr. Lee Jong-Wook demonstrated undisputable leadership; he was a foremost architect of the fight for a world without polio.

World Health Organization publications indicate that Benin, as is the case with nine other countries in the world, is one of the countries where the poliovirus has reappeared. This means that Benin is not among the endemic countries. The Government of Benin deserves credit for its visible efforts to ensure thorough immunization coverage to children under five. We nevertheless must keep up our vigilance to avoid the resurgence of the poliovirus.

The national immunization days constitute an effective strategy of political and social mobilization aimed at eradicating polio. But, we think that this mobilization, especially the social mobilization, must be continual so that the communities understand the necessity of having their children vaccinated.

The presence of His Excellency the President of the Republic illustrates the determination of high level leaders in Benin to make the issue of polio eradication a priority in the health sector. At USAID, we think that the eradication of polio means that every child in Benin will benefit from the mobilization of everyone, that is governmental, religious and traditional leaders, the media, health care workers, teachers, and again, parents.

The eradication of polio also requires renewed confidence in vaccination within communities. It is important to reinforce routine immunization which is one of the best prevention strategies. Monitoring, which aims at detecting and mounting an appropriate response to the polio virus, is also crucial.

Finally, the eradication of polio requires that particular attention be granted to newborns, who are sometimes forgotten during the campaigns.

Excellency, Mr. President,

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Government,

The Government of the United States has integrated in its assistance the reduction in the incidence of polio as a part of child survival. This is why, within the framework of its assistance program, USAID has provided, since 1999, an annual contribution to the expanded program of immunization through UN agencies, including WHO and UNICEF. Since 2004, the annual contribution of USAID/Benin to the fight against polio amounts to US $ 300,000, because of the resurgence of polio cases.

I would like to express our admiration for the efforts the Government of Benin has been making since 2000 to finance the campaigns and conduct routine immunization activities. But we must not lower our guard, because the polio virus is very dangerous and warrants being under permanent watch.

Finally, I would like to encourage the Government of Benin to continue its efforts aiming to make the immunization programs sustainable. These efforts necessarily involve the strengthening of the health system. Thus, this system will be more suitable to effectively respond to the challenges of polio and other childhood diseases.

Thank-you for your attention!

Rudolph Thomas, USAID/Benin Mission Director, congratulating Dr. Thomas Boni Yayi, President of Benin Republic and Ms. Flore Gangbo, Minister of Health.

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