Feb. 16, 2012, Moundou, Chad -- "In the year 2000 my 10-year-old son Thaddeus sat in his wheelchair beside then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and together they pushed a button beginning the countdown and the global effort to eradicate polio by the year 2005. Thaddeus was born in India and is paraplegic as a result of polio. At that time, there were thousands of cases of polio there. Now, India has been polio free for one year. Thaddeus cheered at that news. “But what about the kids in the rest of the world?” he asked.
I told Thaddeus that polio still exists in some 14 countries – but in relatively small numbers. Chad - with 132 cases last year - is second only to Pakistan. Now UNICEF and its partners are engaged in what is hopefully the final surge to eliminate the disease from the face of the earth. The challenge here in Chad is to convince all parents that the vaccine is safe and to reach every child, even in the most remote places."
Mia Farrow, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
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© UNICEF/NYHQ2012-0063/Olivier Asselin
Chad, 2012
On 16 February, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow gives a boy a dose of oral polio vaccine, at an immunization site in the Gueljem neighbourhood of the town of Moundou in Logone Region. The vaccinations have been organized by CELIAF, a national women’s civil society organization network. Ms. Farrow’s T-shirt bears the UNICEF logo.
© UNICEF/NYHQ2012-0066/Olivier Asselin
Chad, 2012
On 16 February, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow chats with 7-year-old Massi Hassan, whose leg brace is being adjusted by a health worker, at the Notre-Dame de Paix rehabilitation centre in the town of Moundou in Logone Region. Massi has been paralyzed by polio. The centre provides custom-made braces, crutches and other treatment for children with physical disabilities, with support from international doctors who visit the health facility several times each year. Ms. Farrow’s T-shirt bears the UNICEF logo.
© UNICEF/NYHQ2012-0062/Olivier Asselin
Chad, 2012
On 16 February, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow gives a girl a dose of oral polio vaccine at an immunization site in the Gueljem neighbourhood of the town of Moundou in Logone Region. The vaccinations have been organized by CELIAF, a national women’s civil society organization network. Ms. Farrow’s T-shirt bears the UNICEF logo.
© UNICEF/NYHQ2012-0051/Olivier Asselin
Chad, 2012
On 14 February, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow chats with 9-year-old Bakhit, who was seriously injured by a landmine, in the Koubigou displacement camp, near the eastern town of Goz Beïda in Ouaddaï Region. Ms. Farrow met Bakhit during her previous visit to the country in 2010. Bakhit sustained injuries to his face, chest and arms in 2008 after picking up a UXO (unexploded ordnance) that he and three friends found while playing. His friends were killed and both of Bakhit’s arms had to be amputated. With support from UNICEF, Bakhit is receiving long-term care. He will receive prostheses for his hands when he is 12. UNICEF also supports mine-risk education for children and families, training for civil society partners and local authorities, and other awareness and prevention activities throughout the country. Many eastern areas remain affected by landmines, UXOs and abandoned munitions. Ms. Farrow’s T-shirt bears the UNICEF logo.