European flight ban delays West African polio vaccination

Martin Dawes, the regional chief of communications for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in West and Central Africa, said on Tuesday that the hold-up means the vaccination campaign will have to be postponed in Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone and Togo for a couple of weeks.

The second phase of campaign, which is due to start on Saturday, aims to immunise 85 million children under five years old in 19 countries in West and Central Africa. He added there are concerns that unsynchronised immunisations could allow the crippling virus to spread within the region.