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Al-Ahram Weekly 28 Jan. - 3 Feb. 1999 Issue No. 414 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 28 Jan. - 3 Feb. 1999 Issue No. 414
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Focus Economy Opinion Culture Features Living Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters When there is a will...
By Rania KhallafMRS SUZANNE MUBARAK was awarded the polio eradication champion award by the International Rotary Organisation at a ceremony on Monday night.
Presenting the award, Rotary President James Lacy said, "On behalf of 102 million Rotarians around the world, we ask Her Excellency Mrs Suzanne Mubarak to accept the Rotary award in appreciation of her tremendous efforts for the welfare of children, and for helping to eradicate this serious disease."
In response Mrs Mubarak said, "This Rotary award, which I humbly accept, is of special significance to me, for it comes from a prestigious organisation whose universal outlook has reached out beyond its original borders. I thank you in the name of Egypt, for I know that it is meant as a tribute to all those whose dedicated efforts have succeeded in protecting our children against polio, a devastating disease which, even if it does not kill its victim can turn a child, born healthy and normal, into a handicapped dependent."
Mrs Mubarak argued that the disease "does not affect only children, but also families, the community and the whole country, when we consider the wide diversity of its serious psychological, social, and economic impacts on all these levels." She added, "Vaccines are no doubt among the most important breakthroughs of modern medicine. They are particularly suited to the children who need them most, the children of the developing world. It is a fact that improvements in child survival rates all over the world owe much to vaccines."
Mrs Mubarak receives the polio eradication award from the president of the International Rotary Organisation, James Lacy
Information, educational campaigns, social mobilisation and community participation helped to maximise the impact of immunisation programmes over the past two years, she argued.
"Our experience proves that any nation can immunise all its children against common childhood diseases," she said. "All that is needed is a national will and an organised effort to make vaccines and health education available to all, particularly to the most vulnerable -- to those whose poor life conditions are a fertile ground for the spread of disease, who have little access to health information, and who may tend to seek medical care in sickness but rarely in health."
Vaccination against common infectious childhood diseases such as smallpox, whooping cough, and diphtheria has been compulsory in Egypt for a long time, she pointed out. "Over the years, our national public health programme has introduced other vaccines such as tuberculosis, hepatitis B, scarlet fever and, of course, polio. We are happy that we have been able to immunise about 95 per cent of our population against these diseases. We have also made much progress in the vaccination of our children against tetanus," she said.
Mrs Mubarak added, "In 1998 we were able to cover 62 per cent of the target population as against 9 per cent in 1984. In recent years, a health sector strategy has been adopted. We have committed ourselves to its goals and undertaken fundamental changes in the health sector as we are fully aware that we have problems, and that proper and scientific solutions have to be worked out. This reform will guarantee universal coverage of the entire Egyptian population, offering a basic package of primary health care services and public health programmes on the basis of equity, efficiency, quality, and sustainability."
"My hope for the immediate future is that the production of effective vaccines will help to eradicate the diseases common in our continent such as bilharzia and malaria. Wouldn't it also be wonderful if, during the new millennium we are about to enter, all other common diseases in the world such as cancer and AIDS were wiped out by new vaccines?" she concluded.
Lacy said that world statistics show that every minute 50 babies are born into abject poverty, facing a life of chronic malnutrition and sickness. Even worse, 34,000 children around the world die each day from hunger or preventable diseases and a staggering 100 million children roam the streets of the world's cities. "My dream for this year is to help children lead a better life. We must use our influence and our expertise to reverse this trend, for children are our children," he concluded.
