In a country as large and sparsely populated as Niger that message isn't easily heard. The 250,000 sq km Saharan Bilma region, for example, has just 10,000 people, most of them nomadic. Few own radios on which to hear news of vaccination days and most have never visited a healthcare clinic in their lives. Islamic traditions discouraging women from leaving the home have also hindered past immunization efforts. The government and agencies sought the support of village and religious leaders to get the message out.
People feel more comfortable in their own house.
At least Niger is not at war. Renewed rebel attacks in Sierra Leone have forced agencies to postpone immunization days there and though the various warring factions in the Democratic Republic of Congo called a temporary cease-fire last year to allow for vaccinations, sporadic fighting threatens to disrupt the campaign in that huge country. Just last week a vaccinator in Angola was killed. The w.h.o. has now conceded that it can't meet the goal of complete eradication by the end of this year. That's bad news even for those countries where vaccinations are taking place.