VP/HR — Nine polio volunteers killed in Nigeria
20.2.2013
Question for written answer E-001752-13
to the Commission (Vice-President/High Representative)
Rule 117
Mario Mauro (PPE)
Nine polio volunteers have been killed in two separate attacks in medical centres in northern Nigeria. The first attack took place in Kano city, while the second was carried out in another medical centre just outside the city, by the same gunmen.
No terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the two attacks, but the Islamist group Boko Haram, a sect that condemns the use of Western medicine in Nigeria, was most probably to blame.
The strong opposition of the Boko Haram group and other Islamist leaders to vaccination is one of the main reasons why Nigeria is one of only three countries in the world in which polio is still endemic.
In the light of these incidents, can the Vice-President/High Representative say:
- 1.what measures the European Union has taken to impede the actions of the Islamist group Boko Haram, which is responsible for numerous terrorist attacks in Nigeria;
- 2.what measures it intends to take in the future to promote vaccination in Nigeria, overcoming religious obstacles;
- 3.what measures it intends to take in the future to make voluntary work in Nigeria safer?
OJ C 371 E, 18/12/2013