Emergency Grant Aid to Myanmar (Assistance for Vaccination against Polio)

September 14, 2007

On September 14 (Fri), the Government of Japan decided to extend emergency grant aid of about $1,871,430 (about 217 million yen) to the Union of Myanmar through the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to prevent the spread of polio.
Although a declaration of polio eradication was made in Myanmar in 2003, polio cases were confirmed last year and again this year. The international community aims at early eradication of polio on the global level, and it is extremely important to take prompt measures to prevent the outbreak of polio in Myanmar.
Considering such a situation, the Government of Myanmar, in cooperation with UNICEF, plans to carry out two-stage vaccinations of about 7.5 million children under the age of five, in November and December, all over the country. Therefore, UNICEF has requested assistance from the international community.
In light of emergency and humanitarian needs to prevent polio from spreading throughout Myanmar and to neighboring countries, the Government of Japan has decided to extend this emergency grant.

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