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31 January
Southern
Chad infected by imported polio
Neighbouring countries at risk
Recent confirmation of polio in Chad's southern province of Tandjile (two cases in November 2007) has increased the risk that this outbreak of imported polio could spread to bordering countries. Chad reported 19 cases of polio in 2007 from 10 provinces - all but one of the cases are of type 1 polio, the more dangerous and prone to spread.
The most recent National Immunization Days were held in August and September 2007,
 with sub-national activities in November and December. In southern Chad, the first supplementary immunization rounds in response to the outbreak were conducted 26-28 January 2008. The next vaccination campaign will take place 23-26 February, targeting 95% of children under the age of five in the country.
In September 2007, poliovirus imported from Chad paralysed a child in South Darfur, Sudan. The recent spread to southern Chad threatens neighbours such as the Central African Republic (CAR) and Cameroon. Further export of polio from Chad is a real risk to the region, where instability in several countries leads to frequent displacement of people and facilitates spread of poliovirus. Further vaccination campaigns are planned in Chad in April - with a focus on improving the quality of the operations in the highest-risk areas - and in CAR and Sudan to reduce the risk of transmission should importation occur.
17 January
Ban
Ki-moon hails Rotary'
s
role in eradicating polio
UN Secretary-General addresses service organization's assembly
Hailing Rotary International as a crucial partner of the United Nations in the battle against polio, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today praised the group’s perseverance in overcoming enormous obstacle in the campaign.
“For 22 years, you and your fellow Rotarians have dedicated your time and efforts to eradicating polio,” he said in a video message to the organization on the campaign that has immunized almost two billion children around the world against the highly infectious, often paralyzing and sometimes fatal disease.
“You have done so in the face of extraordinary challenges. You have overcome financial shortfalls, conflict and lack of security. You have conquered cultural barriers and lack of political will.
At every turn, in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, you have found creative solutions, in partnership with the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In this way, Rotarians have shown the world what can be achieved when civil society and the United Nations partner together.”
The world’s success in eradicating polio now depends on four countries – Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan – and a further
US$ 440 million is needed over the next two years for victory, according to an assessment in October by the independent Advisory Committee on Polio Eradication (ACPE), which oversees the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
“When the last chapter on polio eradication is finally written, it will tell one of the most spectacular success stories in public health,” Mr. Ban said. “It will describe one of the world’s most remarkable partnerships. And it will highlight your personal service to humanity.
“Today, Rotary’s leadership is more critical than ever. Your determination and generosity will drive us to the finish line in our race against polio. I know you will go the distance. And I will be with you every step of the way.” Video
16 January
Polio
vaccine reaches over 400 million children in 2007
More than 400 million children vaccinated in 2007
Most dangerous serotype beaten back, as intensified eradication effort zeros in on remaining reservoirs
 More than 400 million children under the age of five were vaccinated multiple times against polio in 2007 in 27 countries, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative announced in January. In total, more than 2.2 billion doses of oral polio vaccine (OPV) were administered during 164 vaccination campaigns, primarily in the remaining endemic countries (Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan), in re-infected countries and in high-risk areas.
Notably, more than half of the administered doses were monovalent Oral Polio Vaccine type 1 (mOPV1), as part of strategic efforts to prioritize eradication of this serotype of poliovirus. Type 1 is widely regarded as the more dangerous of the two remaining serotypes (the other being type 3), due to its significantly higher paralytic attack rate and propensity for geographic spread. Thanks to this tactic of targeting type 1, 2007 is set to be the year with the lowest-ever recorded incidence of type 1 polio, with a decrease of 84% of type 1 cases compared with 2006. Final data will be available by March 2008.
Large areas of the remaining endemic countries now appear to be free of this serotype, including the western end of Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state and an area in which the virus has been more entrenched than anywhere else on earth.
Given this progress, the Advisory Committee on Poliomyelitis Eradication - the independent body providing strategic guidance to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative -
endorsed (pdf) continuing these intensified eradication efforts in 2008-2009. This will mean a significant ramping-up of both the quantity and quality of supplementary immunization activities in the remaining endemic areas in an bid to rapidly stop polio once and for all.
Full financing of the intensified phase is critical, as the increased activities come with significant budgetary implications. For 2008-2009, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative faces a global funding gap of
US$ 525 million. US$ 175 million of this amount is needed for 2008. A full budget has now been published in the updated Financial Resource Requirements document, available at
www.polioeradication.org/fundingbackground.asp
January 11
U.S. Health Secretary finds "great commitment on an astounding
scale" in India's intensified eradication efforts
New Delhi – Michael O. Leavitt, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, administered polio vaccine today to an Indian child during a supplementary immunization activity, as part of the country's intensified efforts to eradicate the disease. Secretary Leavitt summed up his impression: “What I have seen today is good organization and great commitment on an astounding scale”.
India launched an intensified push against the wild poliovirus in 2007, with near-monthly vaccination campaigns preferentially targeting type 1 polio, the more dangerous of the two remaining types. As a result, type 1 has declined by nearly 90%. India, by far the most populous of the world's four remaining polio-endemic countries, has the highest number of polio cases (831 in 2007 to date). The country is currently curbing an outbreak of type 3 polio in Bihar, concomitant with the decline in type 1. “India is working hard and everyone should be supportive," said Secretary Leavitt, assuring his counterparts of the United States’ ongoing support to India for polio eradication.
21 December
 European Commission provides
US$ 29 million for Immunization Plus
Days in Nigeria, in addition to Ethiopia contributions
Model based on additional health interventions and community engagement has proven effective
On 20 November, the European Commission signed an agreement to provide US$ 28.8 million (€20 million) for Immunization Plus Days (IPDs)
in Nigeria for March 2006 - September 2008. This brings the EC's polio contributions in Nigeria to more than US$ 95 million.
The EC's contributions for global polio eradication
now total more than US$ 192 million. This includes US$16 million (€13.1
million) to support polio eradication outbreak response activities in Ethiopia
from October 2006 to September 2007. This contribution was used for operations
costs for two National Immunization Days (NIDs) targeting 15.1 million children
under the age of five years as well as mop-up activities. Two NIDs were held in
June and October 2007, and thanks in part to the support of the EC Delegation in
Ethiopia, the country has been polio-free for more than one year.
The funds for Nigeria are being used for operations costs, which have increased by 60% with the introduction of IPDs. Introducing other health interventions – such as bed nets or de-worming tablets – in addition to polio vaccine, the IPDs also integrate community participation and have led to increased awareness among families and greater coverage of children.
Between 2006 and 2007, the proportion of children in the endemic parts of Nigeria who had never received a dose of oral polio vaccine had fallen by nearly 50%. While there are still too many children being missed in some highest-risk areas, this progress has brought the largest single-year drop in polio in Nigeria, a 77% decline in cases and a 89% decline in type 1 polio alone (the more paralytic of the two types of poliovirus surviving, type 1 is the current priority target of global polio eradication). For the first time in five years, Nigeria
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