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NAIROBI, Nov. 12-- The United Nations health agency on Monday called for concerted efforts to help eradicate polio outbreaks in Africa. Rudi Eggers, World Health Organization (WHO) Kenya country representative, said that countries across Africa are taking great strides towards polio eradication and thus require necessary support. "Polio cases must be stopped through vaccination of every last child and strengthening surveillance," Eggers said at a pan-African conference in Nairobi to review progress made towards elimination of polio in the continent. He added that these outbreaks must be stopped in the same way as wild poliovirus by ensuring routine immunization and conducting good quality immunization campaigns to contain polio infectious materials. The WHO official noted that several initiatives including the use of technological innovations are being conducted and it is necessary to ensure access to inaccessible and hard to reach areas as well as mobile populations to implement high quality surveillance and immunization activities. He told the delegates that polio eradication effort is now at a crucial stage where "business unusual" will make a difference in ensuring that the poliovirus circulation is finally interrupted in the remaining endemic countries and in countries experiencing outbreaks. "We have to implement our efforts in combination with new and innovative strategies, in order to become more effective in achieving desired results," Eggers said. | 
