Darfur rebels allow vaccinations

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Aug 09, 2004 (UPI) — The United Nations says representatives of the rebel movements in Sudan’s western Darfur region have agreed to allow vaccinations for some 500,000 children.

The vaccinations are for such potentially killer diseases as measles and polio and are for children who have been cut off from regular health services, the world organization said Monday.

The top U.N. envoy for Sudan, Jan Pronk, welcomed the development. “This is a good example of the kind of cooperation needed from both sides to deliver the relief that is urgently needed,” he said from Khartoum. “It is crucial that vaccines reach all children in all areas of Darfur.”

Agreement was reached with the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement after a U.N. team met their representatives last Friday in Asmara, Eritrea, according to the United Nations in Khartoum.

The Sudanese Health Ministry endorsed the initiative.