Somalia: Appeal for help to check polio

A visiting Somalia minister has joined the World Health Organisation and Unicef in appealing for Sh720 million to eradicate polio in the strife-torn country. The Somalia health minister told a press conference in Nairobi that the threat of the disease spreading to neighbouring countries was serious and must be stopped. Already, he said, some cases had been reported in Ethiopia. The minister said 191 cases of polio had been confirmed in Somalia since last July.