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20 January 

Rotary honors World Health Organization Regional Director, Dr. Shigeru Omi, as a “Champion” in the worldwide effort to eradicate polio

20 January 2008, Geneva, Switzerland - Rotary International today recognized Dr Shigeru Omi, the departing World Health Organization Regional Director for the Western Pacific, with the Polio Eradication Champion Award for his leadership in support of a polio-free world.

The award, presented on behalf of Rotary International during the World Health Organization’s Executive meeting by Rotary District Governor and polio survivor 

Dr Urs Herzog, was established in 1995 and is the highest award Rotary awards to honor heads of state, health agency leaders and others who have made significant contributions toward polio eradication.

Polio champion: Dr Shigeru Omi (left); with Rotary District Governor Dr Urs Herzog; WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan; and Mr Nimal Siripala de Silva, Chairman of the WHO Executive Board and Minister of Healthcare and Nutrition Sri Lanka. The Polio Eradication Champion Award is the highest honour given by Rotary International to heads of state, health agency leaders and others who have made significant contributions towards polio eradication.

“I am privileged to be here today to recognize the outstanding contribution to global polio eradication of Dr Shigeru Omi,” says Herzog. “There are now fewer polio cases in the entire world than there were in China alone when Dr Omi first launched his efforts. Such accomplishments would not have been possible without the vision and dedication of people like Dr Omi.”

Accepting the award, and referring to the fact that indigenous wild poliovirus transmission had been eliminated from all but four countries worldwide (India, Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan), Dr Omi commented: "The whole world is waiting (to achieve global polio eradication). Being so close, this is a battle we cannot afford to lose. Therefore, my plea is to make a very final push by tackling aggressively the root of the problem, be it the operational challenges of the field or lack of political commitment of heads of state, so that we can get rid of the virus once and for all."

In 1990, Dr Omi became a founding member of the Regional Polio Eradication Task Force in the Western Pacific Region. At the time, China alone accounted for more than 23% of the world’s polio cases and close to 6,000 cases of polio were reported throughout the region every year. Over the next 10 years, Dr Omi worked to support polio eradication by working with national governments, donors and non-governmental organizations including Rotary International to promote polio eradication within the region.

Dr Omi played a critical role in convincing high level Chinese official of the need to conduct National Immunization Days, the first of which were held in 1994. China’s National Immunization Days were the world’s largest public health event, reaching over 80 million children. The success of this event convinced many people that it could be repeated in other parts of the region, and in other parts of the world.

The Western Pacific Region was officially declared polio free in 2000.

“Dr Omi has continued to actively contribute to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative by agreeing to assign members of his expanded program on immunization to support efforts in polio endemic countries in other regions and by working to secure funding for polio eradication from donors within the region,” continued Herzog.

Dr Omi served two consecutive terms as Regional Director for the Western Pacific, and will now be succeeded by Dr Shin Young-soo, of the Republic of Korea.

Other leaders who have been honored with Rotary’s Polio Eradication Champion Award include Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, President Laurent Gbagbo of Côte d’Ivoire, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi of Malaysia, former Prime Minister John Howard of Australia; Prime Minister Helen Clark of New Zealand; former Prime Minister Tony Blair of Great Britain; Alpha Oumar Konare, former chair of the African Union Commission; former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan; Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India; former President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria; former President Bill Clinton of the United States; former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan; President Mamadou Tandja of Niger; President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan; Prime Minister Bertie Ahern of Ireland and first lady Suzanne Mubarak of Egypt.

13 January

RD EMRO Gezairy on high-level polio visit in Afghanistan and Pakistan  

Countries kick-off intensified effort to immunize 40 million children in January

Dr Hussein A Gezairy, Regional Director for the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO), this week travelled to Afghanistan and Pakistan, on a high-level visit for polio eradication.    

Beginning his tour in Islamabad, Pakistan on 9 January, Dr Gezairy met with HE Prime Minister Mr Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, who provided his strong assurance of his government's full support to polio eradication.  Dr Gezairy then discussed the importance of polio eradication with Federal Minister for Health Mir Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani, at the occasion of the inaugural meeting of the Inter - provincial Committee on Polio Eradication.  

At the Inter-provincial Committee meeting, the Minister highlighted the need for increased inter-sectoral collaboration (including other government departments, the private sector, medical associations, etc) to attain the highest quality polio campaigns.  Dr Gezairy stated that we must begin the year with the resolve to hit the poliovirus with full force.  Underscoring that Pakistan has the capability and capacity to eradicate the virus, Dr Gezairy commended the visible political will, determination and commitment to achieving this.  Attended by the provincial Health Ministers and Health Secretaries from Balochistan, North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Sindh, the Committee reviewed recently-developed provincial-level action plans to ensure targeted and sustained eradication activities.  The Minister for Health concluded by remarking that everything possible will be done to ensure the dream of Benazir Bhutto of a polio-free Pakistan becomes a reality.

The following day, Dr Gezairy joined the Minister of State for Health Chaudhry Muhammad Afzal Sandhu, who highlighted the Prime Minister's intention to imminently launch the Prime Minister's Action Plan for Polio Eradication to ensure a polio-free Pakistan is attained as quickly as possible.  In a meeting with the Chief Minister of Punjab province, Mr Mian Shahbaz Sharif, the Chief Minister provided Dr Gezairy with assurance of his personal oversight to polio eradication in the province.  

Continuing his tour in Kabul, Afghanistan, on 11 January Dr Gezairy was received by HE President Hamid Karzai and a senior-level delegation including Dr Mojadidi, the President's personal advisor on health and education, and Dr Sayed Mohammad Amin Fatimi, Minister of Health Afghanistan.  Meeting surviving family-members of those who have tragically lost their lives during official polio eradication duties, Dr Gezairy paid tribute to the heroic efforts of health workers in Afghanistan to eradicate polio under often very challenging and dangerous circumstances.  The meetings were also attended by key partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, including Mr Kai Aide, Special Representative to the UN Secretary General in Afghanistan, as well as senior representatives from Saudi Arabia, CIDA, USAID, ICRC, the World Bank, the EC, UNICEF, and BPHS NGOs from the country's Southern Region. 

National Immunization Days (NIDs) were launched in both countries, to start the year by immunizing more than 40 million children under the age of five years over the course of just a few days.  Pakistan and Afghanistan are two of just four countries worldwide (with India and Nigeria) where indigenous transmission of polio has never been interrupted.

Islamabad, Pakistan, 9 January 2008 – HE Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani (right) and Dr Hussein A Gezairy, Regional Director, WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO). 

Islamabad, Pakistan, 9 January 2008 – Federal Minister for Health Mir Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani in a meeting with Dr Hussein A Gezairy, Regional Director, WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO). 

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