A mass polio immunisation campaign is about to begin in north-eastern Nigeria after new polio cases were recently found in the region. There was an initial emergency vaccination of children earlier this month in the communities affected to contain the virus.


This is first phase of what will be a country-wide campaign organised by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Nigerian authorities.

Millions of children aged five and under are expected to be vaccinated.

Other countries in the Lake Chad area, including Niger, Cameroon, Chad and the Central African Republic, will also be targeted.

Ahead of tomorrow’s vaccination exercise, Nigerian papers have reported that the country has received or has requested a $125m (£94m) loan from the World Bank to tackle the outbreak.

-BBC