Day one of the August 2001 national campaign against polio: immunizers traverse the Congo River near Kisangani, calling to communities along the shore to bring their children to be vaccinated. The vaccine cold-storage box bears the 'Kick Polio Out of Africa' logo of the continent-wide effort.
The Congo and its tributaries, one of the world's great river systems, remain the principal transport route in this part of the country. Larger boats have been destroyed in the war, so canoes are the only mode of river transport in this area.
Motorcyclists deliver vaccine, preserved in cold-storage boxes, 150 kilometres down jungle tracks to a remote health zone in eastern Congo. It is a risky journey: two weeks earlier a doctor conducting immunization surveys was shot on this road.
The 'door-to-door' effort to reach all children extends to the country's waterways. A toddler, travelling on the Congo River near Kisangani, is vaccinated by a volunteer nursing student.
A disabled boy stands with friends outside his primary school in Kisangani. Continuing conflict seriously strains health care, education and other social services.
On the other side of the country, five-year-old Jonathan Msiala, who has polio, recovers from corrective surgery in Kinshasa, the capital. The operation should straighten his legs enough to fit into braces. "Before, he could only crawl," says his mother. "Now, he will be able to use crutches and go to school."
