- The Nigerian government has announced that laboratory tests made in the country showed that the polio vaccine was uncontaminated, rejecting earlier claims by a Shari'a court. Vaccination can now continue.
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has made a statement saying that accusations against the polio vaccine - which has been branded unsafe, and containing HIV and anti fertility agents - are all far from the truth.
According to a press release sent out to Nigerian media last week, President Obasanjo had told a group of Nigerian Youths that the polio vaccine is safe and uncontaminated with neither HIV/AIDS virus nor anti-fertility.
Doctors at the National hospital Abuja last week had announced their findings on the test and have certified the drug as safe and uncontaminated with neither anti-fertility hormones nor HIV virus.
Nigerian government ordered for the test after an Islamic cleric in Northern Nigeria alleged that the vaccine was not safe. The Supreme Council for Shari'a accused the US government of contaminating the population growth of especially the Muslims.
The Shari'a Court's announcement made the ongoing polio vaccination campaign in Northern Nigeria, carried out by the World Health Organisation (WHO), came to a halt. Several local governments and wide parts of the population rejected the vaccine, which has been used on a world wide basis.
It was reported that WHO has warned that the continued resistance of the polio vaccine by some North Nigerian states was endangering the lives of many children in West African neighbour countries. WHO has lately reported on a renewed spread of the disease in West Africa.
The WHO is currently performing polio vaccination in the last few areas where the deadly disease still exists, including some pockets in Western Africa. The UN agency aims at totally exterminating the disease within few years.
The Nigerian government was heavily criticised internationally for giving in to the accusations of the Shari'a court. WHO protested maintaining the vaccine was totally safe and had previously been used all over the world.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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