National Immunisation Campaign
Milestone In Polio Eradication

By Jhabindra Bhandari

THE nation marked the first round of intensified National Immunisation Day (NID) on December to be followed by the second round on January 19, 2002. This is a national campaign and hence is regarded as an important initiative to eradicate polio from the country. More importantly, Nepal joined the global polio eradication initiative in 1996, with implementation of supplementary immunisation activities in the form of NIDs.

Nepal started Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) in 1979, initially in three districts as a pilot programme. Thenafter it was extended to all districts by 1988. In spite of many development challenges, the country is committed to polio eradication by the year 2002. All children below the age of 5 years are targeted for the NID to eradicate polio, regardless of previous immunisation status.

Largely as per the strategic guideline for the national immunisation programme, the key strategies include high routine immunisation coverage, national and sub-national immunisation days, surveillance for Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) meeting certification standards and mopping-up immunisation activities.

In Nepal, the first ‘mop-up’ immunisation campaigns for polio eradication were launched in April and May this year. In most cases, such "mop – up" rounds are conducted during the final stages of polio eradication.

A large number of community health volunteers including village level representatives, female community health volunteers, teachers and students have been mobilised for local response so as to make the NID a grand success. And hence, there is no doubt that it requires active community participation to reach the ambitious goal of polio eradication.

Moreover, Minister of Health with support from national and international NGOs, bilateral and multilateral agencies like WHO, UNICEF and many others are looking forward to having a meaningful outcome as such campaigns are major landmarks to reach the goal of eradicating polio in the country. Like other commitments, this should receive a significant national programme urging for active community participation to yield maximum impacts.

Of interest to note is that the first year of the NID was conducted in two rounds on 6 December in 1996 and 17 January in 1997. And there/after, on annual basis, the NIDs are continuously taking place with focus on community mobilisation for appropriate response at all levels.

As per the national annual report of Department of Health Services – 1999/2000, 3,773,160 and 3,922,248 children under five years of age received oral polio vaccine (OPV) in the first and second rounds of the first year’s NID. In the subsequent years, there was a remarkable progress in terms of better coverage. Accurate reporting system in this regards is essential to monitor the progress.

All district health offices including village level health facilities are now busy to organise the NID successfully as this requires timely supply of vaccines and other logistics for wider coverage. This week has really been the most hectic for all health offices to coordinate local health facilities like Sub – Health Posts (S/HPs) and Primary Health Care Centres (PHCs) for effective planning and management of the NID at local level.

There exist district, village and ward level committees to support and monitor the quality aspects of the NID for better coverage and impact. "This year we are targeting 44,000 children under five years of age throughout Baglung district. And preparations are almost over" says Babu Ram Sharma Poudel, District Immunisation Supervisor at district health office.

Adds Poudel "There are 553 immunisation centres throughout the district. Of which only 22 are based in municipality area. Around 1,106 volunteers will be mobilised in the first round of this year’s NID. And largely social mobilisation is key to eradicate polio." So, the health offices are disseminating the information related to the significance of community participation for polio eradication.

In the context of Local Self-governance Act, the District Development Committees (DDCs) and Village Development Committees (VDCs) can play an important role to manage the NID more effectively. It is therefore crucial to orient these local bodies for their active participation in mobilising people to organise immunisation activities.

In this scenario, the district health office of Baglung recently organised a one-day coordination meeting for multi-sectoral response – as the representatives from DDC, local NGOs and other development line agencies showed keen interest and commitment to make this polio eradication initiative a success. Particularly, right before the NID takes place – massive awareness of the important of the polio eradication in the communities is extremely urgent.

After all, EPI is one of the important priority programmes of His Majesty’s Government of Nepal. One of the important reasons is that it is the most cost effective health interventions as the immediate objectives of the EPI are to eliminate neonatal tetanus, to reduce measles and to eradicate poliomyelitis. However, the overall objective is ultimately to reduce child morbidity and mortality associated with vaccine preventable diseases.

In this way, despite many problems and challenges of public health – from the very basic growing needs of water supply and sanitation to high infant and maternal morbidity and mortality, it is true that government and civil society should work together to improve the health status of the entire population – particularly women and children. Most importantly, there is a need of strong political will and commitment to recognise health as a fundamental human right.

MoU On Tourism: For Stronger Nepal China Ties

By Nishchal Nath Pandey

WHAT was mooted during the visit of President Ziang Zemin in 1996 and forwarded during the visit of Prime Minister Zhu Rongji earlier this year was finally implemented on Monday last week. Nepal and China signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on implementation plan for outbound travels by Chinese citizens to Nepal. The MoU was signed by Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Bal Bahadur KC and He Guangwei, Chairman of National Tourism Administration of the People’s Republic of China. Nepal is the first South Asian country to be enlisted as Chinese outbound tourist destination and according to Guangwei, ‘This agreement will serve as a landmark agreement’ between Nepal and China. Talking to reporters after the signing in ceremony, Minister KC said that the MoU had added new dimension to the long-standing mutual co-operation between the two countries. "Being a neighboring country, China is undoubtedly a potential tourism market for Nepal," he said. China, it must be recalled, had last year enlisted Nepal as one of its ninth outbound tourist destinations.

Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Tourism Board Pradip Raj Pandey comment on the MoU was "this MOU will help Nepal’s tourism industry as China is the world’s fastest growing economy that has sustained the current global financial turmoil." Visibly a happy man, Pandey however cautioned that there would not be immediate results and added that he was looking into the possibilities of opening an information office in Beijing. The Chinese side, it must be comprehended, have already opened such an office in Kathmandu which is located inside the Heritage Plaza. As per the MoU, Chinese tourists can come to Nepal only in a group with a minimum of five members. Nepal has also authorized nearly 70 Chinese travel agencies to bring Chinese tourists to Nepal.

However, both Nepal and China will have to sincerely abide by the provisions of the MoU and that both the sides must ensure that in actuality the tourists visit Nepal in large numbers. There are estimates like a study of the World Bank which discloses that "China will emerge as a number-one inbound tourist destination and fourth largest tourist outbound destination by 2020 with an estimated nine million Chinese tourists going abroad annually". However, reports and estimates aside, what is more crucial is the need and means to increase the desirability of Chinese tourists to visit Nepal. We must seriously ponder on why the Chinese that have several other safe and fascinating places to visit essentially crave to come to our country. What are the things that they are looking for? Is it the temples and monasteries that are in abundance in their own county that they would want to see? Is it the casinos or the mountains that they would think of exploring? We must analyze and properly assess the wants, behavioral characterists of the Chinese tourists, their likes and dislikes if we are determined in at least attracting two per cent of the total Chinese outbound tourists. The Chinese don’t like eating any other cuisine other than their own and this has been a constant pattern the world over. Unfortunately, even the capital city cannot boast of a Chinese restaurant with the capacity of treating a large number of visitors at the same time-forget pilgrimage sites like Lumbini and tourist destinations like Pokhara.

At the moment, Nepal’s tourism is dependent mostly on Indian, European and American tourists that bring in much needed foreign currency to Nepal. With a crippled carpet and an already splintered garment and pashmina industries, Nepal’s economy is totally dependent on the tourism industry that is itself having to cope with the current downturn in the world tourism industry. With the horrific terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, the global aviation industry also has been facing a severe recession period. Tourists from the north in large numbers could support not only the ailing industry but in a broader perspective, support the entire economy provided that we conduct appropriate promition campaigns in China and the Chinese government itself encourages its citizens by furnishing adequate information about Nepal.

The other crucial factor is the security brainteaser, which of course is of primary concern to the government. However, the government has put in all efforts together to bring back normalcy even in those areas of the country that are supposed to be under the influence of insurgents. A state of emergency has been declared to ensure peace and stability in the kingdom. The US, EU and India have already voiced their strong support for the government’s endeavor to ensure peace and amity in the country-the land of Lord Buddha.

It is widely anticipated that Chinese tourists will bring in not only the much needed cash but also act as a strong bridge in fostering new economic relationship between the two neighbors that have a long history of mutually beneficial economic ventures.

The Art Of A Sheep Farmer

By Dawid A Lieb

ANDY McMurry considers himself an abstract artist, but his preferred medium isn’t oil paints or sculpting clay - it’s sheep.

McMurry has a flock of 400 sheep that he’s bred for their naturally colourful wool, ranging from hues of brown, black and white to shiny grays and even hints of blue or red.

The wool sheared from the sheep is spun into yarn and woven - by McMurry’s mother, Elzan McMurry - into shawls, scarfs and throws. No dyes or bleaches are used, but the natural look of the wool makes the finished product rich in colour.

"The reason I got into these sheep is it’s just like painting ... it’s totally an expression," says Andy McMurry, who also does decorative home painting.

In an agricultural field where white wool is king and sheep are more often bred for their meat, a handful of farmers raise the animals for colourful wool.

The National Coloured Wool Growers Association has fewer than 650 members, many of them hobbyists with just a few dozen sheep. According to the American Sheep Industry Association, there are about 66,000 sheep producers in the United States.

McMurry, 33, developed an interest in sheep at age 19 while participating in a Future Farmers of America exchange program in 1988 in New Zealand, a top sheep-producing nation.

When he returned home to the family farm, he arranged for a coloured ram and six pregnant coloured ewes to be placed on a ship carrying 2,000 otherwise white sheep headed from New Zealand to Canada. From there, McMurry brought the coloured sheep to his farm near the Missouri River.

His sheep are of two breeds: Romneys, with longer than usual wool, and Merinos, with finer wool.

From those first seven sheep, McMurry has mixed and matched their offspring, generating new colours and textures and strengthening the bloodlines of those that he finds most appealing.

He says their wool is cleaner than that of most sheep because of their unusual diets. McMurry feeds his sheep little or no hay or grain, instead shepherding them to native or specially planted grasses and weeds, even through the winter.

With the help of a state agricultural loan, McMurry bought a loom three years ago. Now his mother weaves the wool into garments in what once was a dairy cattle shed.

The McMurrys sell their products in local stores and over the Internet under the brand name Genopalette, for a palette of colours produced genetically.

Catalogs, both online and print, tout not only the natural colours and fine textures, but also the grazing methods.

"This sheep thing is holistic ... the relationship of the rain and soil and grass and sheep, and the sheep’s health, and the weaving and spinning, and then the products you can share with people," McMurry says.

After shearing a lamb in a demonstration for visitors one fall day, McMurry rolled a handful of the soft wool over and over in his palm - a process that with soap and water can turn wool into felt. For McMurry, just feeling the wool is relaxing.

He explains how the sun has faded the warm coppery brown of the wool to a cooler grayish brown at the tips. That’s what gives the wool its visual depth, he said.

"I think it would make pretty yarn," says McMurry, envisioning a potential scarf. "The wool is so engaging to me, I just look at it, and it’s, ‘Wow!"’

(AP)