Over several days, health workers and hundreds of thousands of volunteers in 17 countries in the region are joining forces to immunize 70 million children against poliomyelitis. The effort is part of the global initiative to eradicate the crippling disease and certify the world polio-free by 2005.

"This regional initiative is a model of the integration we are trying to achieve through the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). When the countries of Africa work together, we can accomplish so much," said Mr Alpha Oumar Konare, President of Mali and Chairman of ECOWAS.

President Konare joined President Mamadou Tandja of the Republic of Niger for the regional launching ceremony in Karma, a small village near Niamey, Niger’s capital.

"In Niger we have worked hard to try to eradicate polio," said President Tandja. "But there is still much to do. We are very proud to now join the entire region in this massive effort to wipe out a disease which has crippled too many of Africa’s children for too long," he stated.

President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria attended Nigeria's launching ceremony on 14 October. Nigeria is key to the effort because it is the largest remaining reservoir of wild poliovirus in Africa. In a video message on 27 September to a Global Polio Partners' Summit at the United Nations in New York, President Obasanjo vowed his personal commitment to wipe out the virus in Nigeria. President Obasanjo has pledged US$ 15 million for the purchase of polio vaccine for National Immunization Days (NIDs) in Nigeria in 2000 alone.

At the end of 1999, the poliovirus was circulating in only 30 countries in the world, 17 of which have had confirmed poliovirus transmission so far this year. The infected or at-risk countries which are synchronizing their polio national immunization days include Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. The first immunization round is taking place from 14-23 October, with a second round scheduled for the third week of November.

Synchronizing NIDs is a key strategy in the effort to reach every child under five with polio vaccine, in a region where large labour migrations, conflict and natural disaster have caused frequent movement of populations across national boundaries. Volunteers and health workers across the region are walking door-to-door where necessary, vaccinating children in every household.

"Children in families who frequently cross borders are often missed altogether during regular NIDs. For the first time, health workers are setting up special immunization posts at key border crossings," said Dr Rima Salah, the Regional Director for UNICEF West and Central Africa. "It is the only way to be sure they are protected against polio."

Leaders are also asking warring parties in the region to stop fighting during the NIDs. "Where there is no peace, I ask that warring factions lay down their arms, if only for a few days. Allow the vaccinators in. Give them safe passage. They are there to help your children," said President Konare.

Since the Global Polio Eradication Initiative was launched in 1988, the number of polio cases globally has dropped from an estimated 350 000 in 1988 to 7094 reported in 1999. Along with West and Central Africa, the virus still circulates in South Asia, including in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is spearheaded by WHO, Rotary International, the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). To date, Rotary International has committed US$ 120 million for polio eradication in Africa. Worldwide, Rotary has contributed US$ 378 million to the protection of more than two billion children. By 2005, Rotary’s financial commitment will reach nearly a half billion US dollars.

"In Niger alone Rotary International has contributed over US$ 4 million to eradicate this crippling disease. All across the region, hundreds of Rotarians will continue to volunteer, raise funds and advocate for a polio-free Africa, and a polio-free world," said Gaston Kaba, Chairman of Rotary’s National PolioPlus Committee in Niger.

Several countries will also be giving Vitamin A to children along with the polio vaccine. "We all know that Vitamin A reduces childhood mortality by 23 per cent and it also saves children’s eyesight," said Xavier Crespin of Helen Keller International. "These synchronized NIDs are a tremendous opportunity to not only put an end to polio, but to save children from other deadly diseases."