EU welcomes eradication of polio in India

Kristalina Georgieva, EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, and Andris Piebalgs, EU Commissioner for Development Monday said they "very much welcome the news about India marking three years since the last case of polio was reported. "While we applaud the progress in India, we also see that where conflict rages and health systems are destroyed we see the return of polio," they said in a joint statement. "Syria is the most striking example. In order to eradicate polio we need functioning immunisation and sustainable health systems. That's why the Commission already substantially supports the health sector in partner countries," they noted. The statement also recalled that President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, announced last year at the Global Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi, UAE, that the EU would join partners in giving further support to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, with five million euro already made available in 2013. "So in the future, as in the past, the European Union will be a key ally in the global effort for immunisation," they added.