WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3845/98 by Susan WADDINGTON Polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases
Date: 1998-12-22
Institutions: European Parliament, WADDINGTON
Subjects: EU aid, West Africa, World Health Organisation, disease prevention, financial aid, health aid, health policy, infectious disease, medical centre, vaccination

C 289/96

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

11.10.1999

(1999/C 289/126)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3845/98

by Susan Waddington (PSE) to the Commission

(22 December 1998)

Subject: Polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases

The 1990 World Summit for Children estimated that 2 million children die each year from vaccine-
preventable diseases, such as polio.

What assistance is the Union giving to the World Health Organisation’s programmes aimed at eradicating such
diseases? How much has the Union contributed to such programmes since 1990?

Answer given by Mr Pinheiro on behalf of the Commission

(24 February 1999)

The Community is actively involved in the financing of the first strategy of the global polio eradication
programme, through the support given to primary health care facilities in 32 Sub-Saharan countries (over 250
millions euro) as well as through structural adjustment support programmes ensuring the funding of priority
health budget lines (over 458 millions euro).

At the specific request of the national authorities, the Community could finance some additional expenditure
linked to the global polio eradication programme. In this case, this expenditure must be included in the
national health budgets.

The Community is also supporting, in close collaboration with the World health organization (WHO) regional
office for Africa, the creation of an epidemiological surveillance network in West Africa (budget 500 000
euro), which is an important contribution to the fourth strategy of the global polio eradication programme.

The Community is already providing substantial support to immunisation activities, mostly in Africa, by
ensuring the supply of priority vaccines, particularly polio vaccine and by developing and improving
immunisation activities in primary health care facilities. A special programme ‘Support to reinforcing
immunisation independence’ in eight sub-Saharan countries (9,5 million euro) is under way. The programme
aims to improve the immunisation coverage of children and young women as well as to reduce states’
dependence on external financing of the expanded programme of immunisation, in particular through the
promotion of its inclusion as a budget line in national health budgets.

(1999/C 289/127)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3849/98

by Ria Oomen-Ruijten (PPE), Karl-Heinz Florenz (PPE), Jan Bertens (ELDR) and Klaus-Heiner Lehne
(PPE) to the Commission

Subject: Construction of motorways A 68, A 73 and A 74 in the Netherlands

(22 December 1998)

The planned motorways A 73 (Venlo South to Maasbracht), the adjoining A 68 (Roermond to Elmpt) with
extended exit and the A 74 (Venlo to the German border) form part of the Trans-European Networks and are
thus eligible for European co-funding (maximum 10 % of project costs), provided the Netherlands government
includes them on its list of priorities.

The fact that the Netherlands government has moved these cross-border links down the list of priorities is not
only causing serious problems in the regions concerned but has also occasioned considerable embarrassment
to the German government, since the corresponding roads on the German side are already open or under
construction.

Is it true that the Netherlands government has not proposed any road construction projects for European

1.
co-funding since 1992?

2.
Is it true that the co-funding allocated in 1998 (ECU 32 million) went to the Betuwe line, the TGV link to
Brussels and two studies including one concerning a possible TGV link between the Eastern Randstad
(Amsterdam-Rotterdam conurbation) and the Rhine-Ruhr area?