Thursday, May 24, 2012

We need to act now to eradicate polio


Polio in the World Now

Following its sixth meeting, held from 15-17 May 2012, the Independent Monitoring Board of the Polio Eradication Initiative wrote to the Director-General of the World Health Organization in advance of the World Health Assembly's deliberations regarding polio eradication. This letter highlights the crisis facing the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, reaffirms the importance of the World Health Assembly's discussions, and underlines the severity of the Initiative's funding shortfall. 


Polio was once a disease feared worldwide, striking suddenly and paralysing mainly children for life. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative, the largest private-public partnership for health, has reduced polio by 99%. Polio now survives only among the world's poorest and most marginalized communities, where it stalks the most vulnerable children. The Initiative's goal is to reach every last child with polio vaccine and ensure a polio-free world for future generations.





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