Haitian and Dominican first ladies inaugurate island-wide vaccination campaign.(Brief Article)

2002 JUN 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The first ladies of the Dominican Republic and Haiti on May 31, 2002 inaugurated the first joint effort to eradicate polio by the two nations that share the island of Hispaniola.

The campaign against polio in Haiti began May 20, 2002 when health workers inoculated schoolchildren with drops of vaccine on their tongues. The campaign's start was postponed in the Dominican Republic because of local and legislative elections.

"This ceremony shows the commitment of our two countries to the health of our children," and the eradication of polio, said Mildred Trouillot Aristide, wife of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

"Together we can reach our objective," said Rosa Gomez de Mejia, wife of Dominican President Hipolito Mejia.

The two spoke at a ceremony on the border, between the Haitian town Malpasse and the Dominican town of Jimani. In a symbolic gesture of solidarity, the first ladies each dropped the vaccination serum onto the tongues of two babies.

The coordinated effort was deemed essential because of the constant crossing of the Caribbean countries' shared border, said Haitian health ministry official Claude Surena.

About 5000 Haitian health workers and volunteers will visit homes to inoculate children in the campaign's second stage, which runs through August 2. In all, some 2 million Haitian children under 5 will be ...