U.S. Consul General Flags Off Campaign in South Calcutta - Polio Immunization Drive on November 9

The U.S. Consul General in Calcutta, Mr. George N. Sibley and Mrs. Lee Alison Sibley joined forces with the Government of West Bengal and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation today in the drive for eradicating polio from West Bengal. The Consul General and Mrs. Sibley joined Mayor Subrata Mukherjee in a South Calcutta neighborhood to officially launch the 9 November Polio Sunday.  This year's campaign has assumed special significance since the discovery of 50 polio cases last year and 28 cases in West Bengal this year.

After administering polio drops to a child to formally start the immunization drive, Mr. Sibley expressed his hope that India would build upon its successful record of combating polio by wiping out the disease entirely by 2005.  Mr. Sibley appreciated the recent trend of the decline in new polio cases, and he expressed the hope that India could soon be striken from the list of 10 countries worldwide where polio has not yet been eradicated.  He commended the efforts of the Government along with partner agencies like UNICEF, WHO and Rotary to reach out to the communities and ensure all children are protected.  He specially commended the initiatives taken by UNICEF to involve NGOs, West Bengal Board of Madrassa Education, Minority Development Department and religious and other leaders, panchayat members and urban local bodies, district administrators and state health officials. Mr. Sibley further noted that the U.S. Government’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia had also contributed to this project by supporting UNICEF in its endeavors.