UN agencies said on Wednesday they were alarmed by an outbreak of polio and measles in East Africa, warning that the importation of the two diseases from northern African nations may pose a threat in Kenya.

United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) said in Nairobi that a fresh outbreak of polio and measles in Eastern Africa could seriously compromise the vaccination campaigns currently underway in the region.

UNICEF Country Representative for Kenya Haemo Laakkhonen said even though the causes of measles and polio were well known, their re-emergence was a symptom of the failure to create demands for vaccines in the region.

"We are here since our country is currently facing dual threat of polio importation from its neighboring northern countries, and the persistence of measles outbreaks and deaths," Laakkhonen said during the launch of an expanded vaccine initiative.

He cited failures in the health systems and management to create demand for vaccines and education in Kenya.

Medics say the return of polio and measles is a result of low vaccination, whose coverage area was slightly just above 65 percent in 2005. This has led to 500,000 children who are unvaccinated every year and will grow with time in Kenya.

Kenya has set itself the target of reaching at least 90 percent of the population as a first step to break the spread of transmission.

The UN agencies led by the UNICEF, WHO and the Kenya government have launched an immunization campaign with the first phase targeting 19 high risk districts neighboring Ethiopia and Sudan.

The main aim of the campaign is the containment of polio and measles which had been done since 2003. The east African nation has reported over 1,400 cases and 14 deaths from measles within a span of less than 6 months.

Source: Xinhua