ADDIS ABABA, April 2 (Xinhuanet) -- The United Nations Children's
Fund (UNICEF) has decided to offer 2.2 million U.S. dollars for
current polio immunization campaign in Ethiopia, according to a
UNICEF press release on Tuesday.
   The UNICEF started a house-to-house polio immunization campaign
since Saturday in some targeted areas in Ethiopia as the first
round of Sub-National Immunization Days (SNIDs) in the year of
2002.
   About 3.4 million children under the age of five in some states
will be vaccinated by Thursday, added the release.
   The target areas were identified based on their performance
during the last round of SNIDs held in November and December,
which indicated the need for conducting additional SNIDs, the
release said.
   UNICEF has expressed renewed commitment to provide financial,
material and technical assistance to the polio eradication efforts
underway in Ethiopia.
   The release noted that as Ethiopia enters the final stretch in
the race to eradicate the crippling disease by 2005, increased
efforts are being waged by all partners engaged in the campaign,
led by the Ethiopian Health Ministry.
   And also an estimated 16 million dollars will be required for
the polio SNIDs in November and December 2002.
   Ethiopia is one of five countries identified as priorities in a
global campaign to eradicate polio by the year of 2005. others are
the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Nigeria and
Mozambique.  Enditem