National immunisation campaign to help keep UAE polio free, Minister of Health says

Ministry of Health emphasized the importance of the campaign to promote immunisation and keep the UAE polio free.

DUBAI // Dr Abdul Rahman Al Owais, Minister of Health, has emphasised that the UAE is polio free and has not registered any cases since 1992.

Following the directives of the World Health Organisation, the UAE continues to be a polio free country.

Dr Al Owais stressed the importance of implementing the national immunisation campaign in all the emirates, either by providing immunisation doses or through national campaigns.

In this regard, the Ministry organised a press conference, in cooperation with Abu Dhabi and Dubai Health Authorities, on Wednesday to launch the UAE National Polio Campaign as an additional booster to increase the immunity of children.

“Our working plan includes supervision and follow up from all the committees and included regular visits to ensure the adequate implementation of the campaign”, Dr Al Owais said.

The Minister reiterated that the Ministry of Health had been very keen, from the beginning, to cooperate with federal ministries and government authorities to provide comprehensive immunisation coverage for every child in the UAE.

Dr. Hussein Al Rand, Assistant Under-Secretary for Clinics and Health Centers and Chair of the organising committee, said that the purpose of the campaign is to promote immunisation against polio, enhance societal immunisation to prevent the dissemination of polio among children, fight the entry of the virus to the UAE, and achieve immunisation coverage for more than 90 percent of the targeted audience.

Dr. Al Rand added that the campaign targets the children of UAE nationals and expatriates aged from 4 months to 5 years.