Zain Iraq and UNICEF in a National Campaign Against Polio

Through its international children-care program, UNICEF attends childhood everywhere in order to provide a healthy and sound environment that enables children to live peacefully and without risks. Yet unfortunately, some indicators through medical reports and surveys have recently shown cases of polio in some areas. This is partly due to inability to deliver proper vaccinations and partly to negligence and unawareness in giving these vaccinations in due time to avoid this serious disease.

Based on this and in order to avoid reaching this disease to Iraq, UNICEF agreed with Zain Iraq, the biggest mobile telecoms operator in the country and one of Zain Group units in the Middle East and North Africa, to launch a nation-wide campaign of vaccination against polio. The campaign was planned to launch 6-10 April 2014. This joint effort is a basis on which Zain social sustainability strategy relies. It would participate in the prevention of polio to disseminate in Iraq especially some reports confirm that polio cases were seen in some of the adjacent areas.

Also participating in this huge and wide campaign are the Iraqi Ministry of Health and WHO. The attention given to this campaign is properly timed to aggregate the efforts and cooperate to make Iraq empty of the disease and to keep children safe.

On his part UNICEF representative in Iraq, Dr. Marzio Babil said "polio is considered an epidemic and we feel concerned to see it appear in Iraq. Upon its appearance, its impact will be devastating on children who will be subject to death or permanent handicap. The only way to prevent children from Polio is to take the mouth vaccination.