New cases at lowest levels ever, but
funding gap threatens progress
Karachi, May 24, 2012 (Geneva,
Switzerland) – Despite
the dramatic drop in polio cases in the last year, the threat of
continued transmission due to funding and immunization gaps has driven the
Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI)to launch an Emergency Action Plan.
The plan aims to boost vaccination
coverage in Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan, the three remaining polio
endemic countries, to levels needed to stop polio transmission. In parallel, health ministers meeting at the
World Health Assembly this week are considering a resolution to declare “the
completion of polio eradication to be a programmatic emergency for global
public health,” in an acknowledgement of the urgency of the situation.
Polio eradication activities
resulted in several landmark successes in 2010-2012. India, long-regarded as the nation facing the
greatest challenges to eradication, was removed from the list of polio-endemic
countries in February 2012. Outbreaks in
previously polio-free countries were nearly all stopped.
Although the number of polio cases
was lower in the first four months of this year than during the same period in
any other year, cases
continue to occur in Nigeria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Chad. Outbreaks in recent
years in China and West Africa due to importations from Pakistan and Nigeria, respectively,
highlight the continued threat of resurgence.
By some estimates, failure to eradicate polio could lead within a decade
to as many as 200,000 paralyzed children a year worldwide.
“Polio eradication is at a tipping
point between success and failure,” said Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World
Health Organization.
“We are in emergency mode to tip it towards success - working faster and
better, focusing on the areas where children are most vulnerable.”
Once achieved, polio eradication
would generate net benefits of US $40-50 billion globally by 2035, with the
bulk of savings in the poorest countries, calculated based on investments made
since the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) was formed and savings
from reduced treatment costs and gains in productivity.
“We know polio can be eradicated,
and our success in India proves it,” said Kalyan Banerjee, president of Rotary
International, a global humanitarian service organization. “It is now a question of political and societal
will. Do we choose to deliver a polio-free world to future generations, or do
we choose to allow 55 cases this year to turn into 200,000 children paralyzed
for life, every single year? ”
Full funding of new plan critical
Already, funding shortages have
forced the GPEI to cancel or scale-back critical vaccination activities in 24
high-risk countries. This leaves more children vulnerable
to contracting the disease, and exposes polio-free countries to the
risk of re-emergence.
“All our
efforts are at risk until all children are fully immunized against polio – and
that means fully funding the global eradication effort and reaching the
children we have not yet reached,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony
Lake. “We have come so far in the battle against this crippling disease. We can now make history – or later be
condemned by history for failing.”
Full implementation of the Emergency
Action Plan (EAP) is currently hindered by a critical funding gap of nearly
US$1 billion through 2013.
“We are all responsible for creating
a polio-free world while we still can,” said Chris Elias, president of global
development at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
“Achieving this goal is a critical step in protecting all children from vaccine-preventable diseases.”
“Achieving this goal is a critical step in protecting all children from vaccine-preventable diseases.”
The Global Emergency Action Plan
The global EAP was developed in
coordination with new country national emergency plans. The plan builds on India’s successes and
outlines a range of new strategies and initiatives to better support
eradication efforts, including:
·
Intensified focus on worst-performing areas of Nigeria,
Pakistan and Afghanistan to increase vaccination coverage by end of 2012 to
levels needed to stop transmission;
·
New approaches tailored to each country to tackle persistent challenges
and improve polio vaccination campaign performance;
·
Heightened accountability, coordination and oversight to
ensure success at every level of government and within every partner agency and
organization.
·
Surge of technical assistance and social mobilization
capacity.
“We need everyone’s commitment and
hard work to eradicate polio and cross the finish line,” said Dr. Thomas
Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC). “It won’t be easy, but together
we can eradicate polio forever and for everyone.”
Already since the start of the year,
the GPEI has moved its operations into emergency mode. CDC has activated its Emergency Operations
Center; UNICEF has officially activated an Interdivisional Emergency
Coordinating Committee operating directly under the Deputy Executive Director;
and WHO has moved its polio operations to its Strategic Health Operations
Centre (SHOC). Such measures are
reserved for responding to global health emergencies -- such as the H1N1
pandemic or the 2004 Southeast Asia tsunami -- and will enable a massive surge
in technical capacity, real-time tracking of program performance and the
immediate implementation of corrective action plans as necessary. Also this year, the Trustees of the Rotary Foundation
reaffirmed polio eradication as the organization’s most urgent priority. In
addition, Rotary senior leaders have launched a series of one-on-one meetings
with the heads of state of the polio endemic countries.
Notes
for editors:
The Global Polio Eradication
Initiative (GPEI) is spearheaded by national governments, the World Health
Organization (WHO), Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) and UNICEF, and supported by key partners including the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Since 1988 (the year the GPEI was
launched), the incidence of polio has been reduced by more than 99%. In 1988,
more than 350,000 children were paralyzed each year in more than 125 endemic
countries. In 2012, 55 cases have been
reported (as of 15 May 2012), and only three countries remain endemic: Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Links to:
-Ends-
For more information:
Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation: media@gatesfoundation.org, +1 206-709-3400
Rotary International: Petina Dixon-Jenkins, petina.dixon@rotary.org; +1 847 866 3054
Rotary International: Petina Dixon-Jenkins, petina.dixon@rotary.org; +1 847 866 3054
UNICEF:
Christian Moen. cmoen@unicef.org, +1 212
326 7516 or mobile +1 917 299 1041
US
CDC: Alan Janssen. axj3@cdc.gov, +1 404 639 8517
WHO:
Sona Bari. baris@who.int, +41 22 791 1476 or
mobile +41 79 475 5511; Oliver Rosenbauer. rosenbauero@who.int,
+41 22 791 3832 or mobile +41 79 500 6536
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