News Archives

30 May

CDC Director tells The Rotarian magazine polio eradication is the agency's "number-one priority"

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides crucial technical and financial support to help end polio worldwide under Julie Gerberding's leadership. She has personally travelled to polio strongholds in Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan, helping to encourage stepped-up efforts against the disease. In the May issue of The Rotarian magazine, Dr Gerberding emphasized that "Polio remains the CDC’s number-one priority." More

23 May

Remaining polio-endemic countries urged to vaccinate all children against polio

World Health Assembly adopts polio eradication resolution

After deliberation yesterday, a resolution was adopted today on "Poliomyelitis: mechanism for management of potential risks to eradication". Highlighting individual polio-endemic countries, the resolution calls on Nigeria to reduce the risk of international spread of poliovirus by ensuring that all children in the north of the country are vaccinated against polio. From 2003 to 2005, poliovirus from northern Nigeria re-infected 20 previously polio-free countries, and virus of Nigerian origin is still circulating in Chad and parts of the Horn of Africa. Nigeria now accounts for 85% of type 1 cases in the world, and by next year could be the only country on earth with type 1 endemic polio transmission.

The resolution also notes the low levels of transmission of type 1 poliovirus in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan and urges those countries to carry out large-scale vaccination campaigns around any reported cases. Type 1 is the more paralytic of the two surviving types of wild poliovirus in the world. More

21 May

Health Minister announces US$ 1 million in funding at World Health Assembly

Malaysian Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai pledged US$ 1 million on behalf of his government to support the global effort to eradicate polio. This new contribution, announced as health ministers called for an intensified push against polio in the final four endemic countries, brings Malaysia's total funding to US$ 2.13 million. 

Attending his first World Health Assembly, the Minister said, "Malaysia is fully supportive of WHO's initiative for global polio eradication and to date, Malaysia has contributed US$ 1.13 million towards the initiative and will make a further US$ 1 million contribution towards the programme".

Dr David Heymann, Representative for Polio Eradication of the WHO Director-General, thanking Dr Hasan Abdul Rahman, Director, Disease Control Division, Ministry of Health for Malaysia's latest contribution to global polio eradication

The contribution from Malaysia, a leader among Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) members, will assist in eradicating polio from the last 4 polio-endemic countries, 3 of whom are OIC members.

21 May

World Health Assembly urges continued intensification of polio eradication effort

Asia on verge of eliminating most dangerous strain of disease, but new outbreak in Nigeria threatens progress in Africa

Convening this week in Geneva, Switzerland, the Health Ministers of the 193 countries of the World Health Assembly (WHA) urged a continued intensification of the polio eradication effort, to rapidly finish the disease once and for all.

The call comes on the heels of 12 months of data presented to the WHA, demonstrating the impact of the intensified eradication effort that was launched at a global stakeholder consultation in February 2007. Characterized by sustained dialogue with and engagement of Heads of State and Government, the effort has seen the wide-scale application of new tools (such as monovalent oral polio vaccines which protect children at least twice as fast against specific serotypes than the traditionally-used trivalent vaccines) and new eradication tactics tailored to the unique challenges in each of the four remaining endemic countries (Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan). Asia is today on the verge of eliminating type 1 polio, the most paralytic strain of the disease, as all three Asian endemic countries are reporting record-low levels of transmission of this serotype (4, 4 and 8 cases of type 1 polio respectively).

At the same time, however, delegates expressed concern at this year's resurgence of type 1 polio in the northern states of Nigeria, where this year has seen a seven-fold increase in cases caused by this serotype compared to the previous year (167 cases in 2008, compared with 23 cases for the same period in 2007). Nigeria now accounts for 85% of type 1 polio cases in the world and could soon be the only country with indigenous type 1 poliovirus.

The new outbreak in Nigeria has occurred because upwards of 20% of children remain un-immunized in key high-risk areas in the north of the country. To reverse this trend, delegates called for increased political engagement and full ownership at every level, to ensure every child is consistently reached with the oral polio vaccine, during every immunization campaign. From 2003 to 2005, a similar population immunity profile in northern Nigeria led to international spread of the disease to 20 countries, causing outbreaks in places as far away as Indonesia and Yemen, and paralysing nearly 1,500 children for life. Virus of Nigerian origin from that period is still circulating in Chad and parts of the Horn of Africa. Experts cautioned that the already high risk of renewed international spread of poliovirus from Nigeria is increasing due to the upcoming rainy season and the large-scale population movements expected for the Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) in the second half of the year.

Addressing the WHA in her opening remarks, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr Margaret Chan underscored the importance of finishing polio once and for all. "In our global (polio eradication) efforts, we are seeing renewed international action coming out of the urgent global stakeholder consultation I convened early last year. I have visited each of the four remaining polio-endemic countries, to observe first-hand the tremendous efforts being undertaken, often under very challenging conditions. We must finish the job. We are too close to allow success to slip through our fingers."

17 May

Mia Farrow launches polio vaccination in Central African Republic

BANGUI, Central African Republic (CAR) – Actress and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow, together with the First Lady of CAR, Monique Bozize, launched a nationwide polio vaccination campaign today in response to detection of poliovirus in the country. The three-day campaign aims to reach 750,000 children with oral polio vaccine.

“Today is very meaningful to me,” said Ms. Farrow. “I had polio myself as a child but was fortunate to survive without any real damage. I’m happy to join UNICEF in this effort to eradicate this paralyzing disease.”

After CAR stopped polio transmission in 2000, it has been re-infected by poliovirus of Nigerian origin in 2003 and stopped that outbreak in 2004. In April 2008, a case of polio was confirmed in CAR due to poliovirus from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, of Indian origin. More

16 May

Research – into developing new polio vaccines, social attitudes towards vaccination and modelling of polio risks – was centre stage at the 14-15 May inaugural meeting of the Polio Research Committee (PRC), hosted by the World Health Organization in Geneva.

The objectives of the meeting were to obtain advice and important decisions influencing the strategies for pre- and post-polio eradication. Committee members were provided with an update of ongoing and completed research in the field of polio eradication, a review of alternate seed strains for IPV production and progress towards Sabin-IPV development, a discussion of the use of adjuvants as an antigen-sparing strategy, and an overview of social research to guide communication strategies for vaccination. These research activities are becoming increasingly important as eradication nears completion.

Issues discussed in detail included:

• poliovirus strains furthering antiviral drug evaluation

• assessment plan for alternate seed strains for Sabin Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccine (IPV)

• alternative activation agents for Sabin IPV

• assessment plan for the use of adjuvants in IPV

• communication approaches, 

• and additional modelling work.

Composed of scientific experts, this new committee reviews polio eradication-related research, identifying remaining gaps in knowledge for interrupting wild poliovirus and preparing for the post-eradication era, proposing appropriate studies to be initiated and determining their priority and funding levels, reviewing external research proposals, and engaging interested parties, stakeholders, and potential new collaborators. The work of the PRC builds on previous meetings, consultations, committees or subcommittees concerning polio-related research.

09 May

Rotary honours German Chancellor Merkel

In recognition of her contributions toward ending polio worldwide, Rotary International today presented Chancellor Angela Merkel with its Polio Eradication Champion Award. More

German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul accepts the Polio Eradication Champion Award on behalf of Chancellor Angela Merkel, as it is presented by Robert Scott, Chair of the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International

Photo courtesy of BMZ

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