MOGADISHU, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Somalia, UN agencies and other partners on Thursday renewed their commitment to addressing health emergencies, with a focus on polio, in the country.

The government and the health partners, in a joint statement issued in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, expressed political support to stop polio, boost immunity to other vaccine-preventable diseases, and strengthen health systems in Somalia.

The statement followed a series of meetings among government officials, representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), and UN Population Fund (UNFPA), and a delegation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which aimed to review progress, assess barriers, and determine how to advance the march toward a polio-free world.

Somalia is facing one of the world's longest-running outbreaks of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2, the statement said, adding that since the outbreak began in 2017, the virus has paralyzed 32 children in the country and spread to Ethiopia and Kenya.

Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre committed to efforts that protect children from outbreaks of polio, measles, and other vaccine-preventable diseases and ensure increased outreach across the country to vaccinate mothers and zero-dose children under the expanded program on immunization.

Chris Elias, chair of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) Polio Oversight Board, lauded the government and its partners for the progress toward stopping polio, commitment to introducing pneumococcal and rotavirus vaccines, and continued commitment to control cholera.

"The Polio Oversight Board looks forward to continued high-level government leadership to end polio and emphasizes the importance of taking an integrated, whole-of-government approach to addressing climate-induced health emergencies, including polio outbreaks," Elias said.

Mamunur Rahman Malik, WHO representative to Somalia, said they have been part of the implementation of the Somalia Emergency Action Plan (SEAP) and have seen what is possible when a critical review of programming is followed by renewed collaboration and support from all stakeholders.

"We are now implementing SEAP II, and I am confident that our efforts, led by the Government of Somalia and dedicated health workers at all levels, will deliver real improvements in health outcomes for Somalia's children," Malik added.

Wafaa Saeed, UNICEF representative in Somalia, said the government, UN agencies and partners have reached an estimated 4 million children with at least two doses of the polio vaccine so far this year to eradicate poliomyelitis from Somalia.

"With the El Nino effect increasing the rains and severe flooding, disease outbreak is imminent. Getting children vaccinated is the surest way to protect them from life-threatening and debilitating childhood diseases," Saeed said. Enditem

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