LAGOS, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Some 30 million Nigerian children will receive immunization during the National Child Health Week, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) statement said.

    The immunization exercise will run from Aug. 1 to 8 across the country, the News Agency of Nigeria reported on Saturday.

    The statement said the UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman and the Minister of Health Babatunde Osotimehin would launch the exercise on Saturday.

    It added that the Child Health Week would enable UNICEF to deliver a package of high-impact and low-cost child survival interventions. The statement said children, especially those in rural areas, would receive immunization, de-worming medicines, and insecticide-treated mosquito nets.

    "In addition, mothers will receive counseling on key household practices such as breast-feeding and basic hygiene," the UN agency said. The statement added that Veneman, who is on a four-day visit to Nigeria, also announced the allocation of more than 5 million U.S. dollars to help educate people in the country about the importance of polio immunization.

    Nigeria is one of four countries, along with Afghanistan, India and Pakistan where polio is still endemic, and accounts for 85 percent of all cases in Africa. UNICEF said the National Child Health Weeks will be held twice a year in Nigeria in close cooperation with the Nigerian federal government.