Kuala Lampur, Malaysia
June, 2007

By invoking a moral imperative to fulfill society’s duty toward its most vulnerable members, religious leaders possess a unique opportunity to mobilize communities toward the global eradication of Polio. When combined with a heightened sense of responsibility to address the socio-economic factors that contribute to the spread of Polio and other disease, this opportunity resonates with enormous potential for fostering an effective partnership between public health and religious leadership.The WHO Global Polio Eradication Initiative 2005 Annual Report cited “uncontrolled transmission of poliovirus in northern Nigeria,” and identified the states of Bauchi, Kaduna, Jigawa, Kano and Katsina as, “the greatest threat to the global eradication of Polio.” With Nigeria as the epicenter of the disease on the African continent, the President of Nigeria, the World Health Organization and the Organization of the Islamic Conference sought our help to address the unwavering opposition to immunization in the Muslim north. [Read more →]