The U.N. children's fund reported on Friday that Saudi Arabia has donated $1.59 million to UNICEF Niger to support polio eradication in the African country. UNICEF stated the funds contributed by Saudi Arabia will be used to purchase Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) and will allow the Nigerian government and its partners to immunize 3.77 million children in 2011. "The generous funding of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be instrumental to ensure a steady supply of OPV for immunization campaigns in Niger," said Guido Cornale, the UNICEF representative in Niger. "This will allow the government of Niger, with the support of the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and other partners, to reinforce immunization activities at a particularly critical time." Saudi Arabia's donation to Niger is part of a total contribution of $10 million to UNICEF to purchase OPV for seven countries in 2011 - Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. UNICEF reported that the contribution to these countries support the immunization of 33 million children under-5 across the Middle East, the Horn of Africa, and West Africa.
