Global Polio Eradication now Hinges on Four Countries

Global Polio Eradication now Hinges on Four Countries

October 13, 2006

Polio-Free Countries Seek to Protect Themselves

    GENEVA, Switzerland, Oct. 13 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- The
world's success in eradicating polio now depends on four
countries -- Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan --
according to the Advisory Committee on Polio Eradication
(ACPE), the independent oversight body of the eradication
effort. 

    (Logo: 
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040610/CNTH001LOGO )

    With a targeted vaccine and faster ways of tracking the
virus, most countries that recently suffered outbreaks are
again polio-free. In parts of the four endemic countries,
however, there is a persistent failure to vaccinate all
children, and polio-free countries are considering new
measures to help protect themselves from future outbreaks.

    "With a more effective monovalent vaccine and
accelerated lab processes for identifying poliovirus, these
countries have the best tools we've ever had," noted Dr
Stephen Cochi, Chair of the ACPE and Senior Adviser to the
Director of the Global Immunization Division at the US
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Eradicating polio is no longer a technical issue
alone. Success is now more a question of the political will
to ensure effective administration at all levels so that all
children get vaccine." As an illustration, the office
of Afghan President Hamid Karzai has already taken direct
oversight of polio vaccinations, following the sharp
increase in cases in the Southern Region of Afghanistan.  

    Given that all children paralysed by polio in the world
this year were infected by virus originating in one of the
four endemic countries, polio-free countries are now taking
new measures to protect themselves. The Ministry of Health
of Saudi Arabia, for example, will be enforcing stringent
polio immunization requirements for the upcoming pilgrimage
to Mecca.  

    "Polio eradication hinges on vaccine supply,
community acceptance, funding and political will. The first
three are in place. The last will make the difference,"
said Dr Robert Scott, Chair of Rotary International's
PolioPlus Committee, speaking on behalf of the spearheading
partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.  Rotary
is the top private-sector contributor and volunteer arm of
the Initiative, having contributed US$600 million and
countless volunteer hours in the field since 1985.

    The ACPE advised the four polio-endemic countries to
set realistic target dates for stopping transmission,
noting that improvements in reaching all children in these
areas have been only incremental, and that these countries
will take more than 12 months to end polio.
    
    Notes to Editors 

    The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is spearheaded
by national governments, the World Health Organization
(WHO), Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) and UNICEF.  

    The polio eradication coalition includes governments of
countries affected by polio; private sector foundations
(including United Nations Foundation, Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation); development banks (including the World
Bank, the African Development Bank); donor governments
(including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech
Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary,
Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia,
Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman,
Portugal, Qatar, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia,
Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab
Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States of
America); the European Commission; humanitarian and
nongovernmental organizations (including the International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies) and
corporate partners (including Sanofi Pasteur, De Beers,
Wyeth). Volunteers in developing countries also play a key
role; 20 million have participated in mass immunization
campaigns.  

    Circulation of wild poliovirus: Since 1988, global
polio eradication efforts reduced the number of polio cases
from 350,000 annually to 1403 in 2006 (as at 10 October
2006), of which 1300 are in the four endemic countries
(where poliovirus transmission has never been stopped):
Nigeria, India, Afghanistan and Pakistan. This is the
lowest number of endemic countries in history.

    Funding: In addition to strengthened political
ownership in the remaining endemic countries, key to
success is the ongoing commitment of the international
donor community.  For 2006, a further US$50 million is
urgently needed, to ensure planned immunization activities
through to the rest of the year can proceed.  Additional
funding of US$390 million is needed for 2007-2008, of which
US$100 million is needed for activities in the first half of
2007.

    For more information, please contact:

     Sona Bari
     WHO/Geneva
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

     Oliver Rosenbauer
     WHO/Geneva
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail] 

     Vivian Fiore
     Rotary Int'l/Chicago
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]   

     Steve Stewart
     CDC/Atlanta
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail] 

     Jessica Malter
     UNICEF/New York
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]  

    For further information on the Global Polio Eradication
Initiative, please see:

     http://www.polioeradication.org
     http://www.rotary.org/foundation/polioplus/
     http://www.cdc.gov
     http://www.unicef.org/polio

SOURCE  World Health Organization