We’re fighting to eradicate polio

With little recognition from the media, for over 30 years, Rotary and its members have quietly been committed to eradicating polio across the world. During this time the number of polio-endemic countries has dropped from 125 to just two. Last year, only 73 cases of the wild poliovirus were reported, all within the two remaining endemic countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Worldwide, over 2.5 billion children have received vaccinations and over 13 million children saved from contracting polio, thanks to the help of Rotary. A truly remarkable achievement.

With eradication now closer than ever, Rotary has released a further $35 million in new grants to support the global effort to eradicate polio. We plan to unite communities to engage in activities as part of the final push to eradicate polio for good. Due to the high population density, if we eradicate the wild poliovi- rus in Pakistan, it is unlikely survive in Afghanistan. The government of Pakistan is fully committed to interrupting transmission this year.

Rotary will continue to raise money for polio eradication. The battle is ongoing and will extend into at least 2019. An estimated further $1.5 billion is needed. Even after we have stopped trans- mission of the poliovirus in Pakistan and Afghanistan, we will need to continue immunizing children and conducting surveillance in 30 high-risk countries to ensure it does not come back. A minimum of three years is required after the last case is recorded. Gains in eradication are precarious and constantly at risk of being reversed, especially in vulnerable countries with weak public health and immunisation services.

There is a legacy to all this work. Once systems are in place they can be used to expand the routine immunisation program to other preventable diseases such as Ebola or the Zika virus. Lessons learned through the polio eradication initiative, the laboratories established, the skills acquired, and the staff trained are not lost to public health but can be transitioned to serve new public health challenges.

Recent gains are exciting, but Rotary’s work is not yet finished. We will carry on for as long as it takes.