21 June 2006

UN Secretary-General hopes for sustained support to finish polio

21 June - In remarks made today to the staff of the World Health Organization, the Secretary-General of the United Nations highlighted the global effort to eradicate polio as a remarkable achievement in public health. Noting the historical progress that has limited endemic polio to only four countries of the world, he voiced his hope that the required financial resources would quickly be made available to consign polio to the history books. The Secretary-General, who maintains an ongoing personal interest in the eradication effort, has advocated with leaders of polio-affected countries to quickly finish the job and with leaders of donor countries to provide the necessary funding. He has also put the UN's mechanisms to ensure greater security at the disposal of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, so that polio vaccination campaigns could be carried out in conflict-affected areas. He paid special tribute to the unprecedented role of Rotary International in the 18-year effort to make polio the first disease of the 21st century, and only the second in history, to be eradicated.
His address can be watched here:  http://terrance.who.int/mediacentre/videos/dg/kofi_annan_staff_who.wmv.

22 May 2006

Director-General Lee passes away

Geneva  –  Dr. LEE Jong-wook, Director-General of the World Health Organization, passed away today. It is with great sadness that the Global Polio Eradication Initiative bids farewell to one of its pioneers.

When the leaders of Rotary International approached the World Health Organization to spearhead a global effort to rid the world of polio, Dr. LEE was the first to respond and to champion the necessary large-scale operations. His dedication to polio eradication spanned his entire career – from his management of immunization in the WHO's Western Pacific Region to taking the programme under his wing as Director-General. That personal oversight ranged from his incisive technical insights to his advice on managing a programme with such a diverse array of partners.

In the opening speech to his last World Health Assembly, he reminded listeners that "None of our children are safe until polio is eradicated everywhere". The partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative hope to honour his memory by reaching one of Dr. LEE's most cherished goals – a world free of polio.

Tribute to Dr. Lee

WHO honours polio eradication visionary

The World Health Organization (WHO) today honoured a founding personality in the global effort to eradicate polio. William T. Sergeant, for 12 years the leader of the programme overseeing polio eradication within Rotary International, received a personal citation from the WHO, at the World Health Assembly.

Mr. Sergeant, 86, has served in Rotary International for nearly six decades – chairing its International PolioPlus Committee for 12 of those years. The private service agency decided in 1985 to make polio immunization an organizational priority. Impressed by Rotary's years of experience using volunteers to immunize large numbers of children against polio worldwide, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution in 1988 to eradicate polio. Mr. Sergeant was at the forefront of this early collaboration, which turned into the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, and has played an increasingly critical role in ensuring the political and financial support necessary.

Dr LEE Jong-wook was to present the citation to Mr Sergeant, a man he considered a dear friend, and a "towering force and a legend in global polio eradication." Due to Dr Lee's sudden death, Dr. David Heymann, his Representative for Polio Eradication, presented the award on his behalf.

"Under Bill's guidance, this partnership has set the gold standard for private - public partnerships to improve global public health, " said Dr. Heymann.

Mr. Sergeant's vision guided the formation and direction of the Initiative, which is led by Rotary International, WHO, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and UNICEF.

"Your leadership in this great effort has brought us closer to the reality of a polio-free world, and improved the lives and futures of millions of children," Dr. Heymann added at the presentation ceremony in the Assembly hall.

In accepting the award, Mr. Sergeant – who retired this year – quipped that the "the noble goal deserves the leadership of someone younger than 86". He noted that his efforts were voluntary, saying he was honoured " in being recognized for a labour of love" and thanked "the members of the World Health Assembly, for your courage and devotion to the goal of polio eradication".

Under Mr. Sergeant's leadership, Rotary International contributed US$ 650 million to the world's largest public health initiative, which has reduced the incidence of polio by 99% and brought the poliovirus to the brink of eradication. Two billion children have been immunized against polio over the years and five million children are walking today who would not have been doing so without that immunization.

10 May 2006 

Tony Blair and Alpha Oumar Konare named Polio Champions 

London  –  British Prime Minister Tony Blair today became the latest Polio Eradication Champion, an award presented by Rotary International to individuals who have made significant contributions towards a polio-free world. Earlier this month, African Union Chairperson Professor Alpha Oumar Konare received a the Polio Champion Award for his work in the fight against polio on the African continent.

Accepting the award on Mr. Blair's behalf, Hilary Benn, the UK Secretary of State for International Development said, "I think we all look forward to the day when polio can be consigned to the medical history books and there will be no need for such an award." Mr. Blair was personally honoured  for his efforts at last year’s G8 summit to encourage President Bush and other world leaders to make good on past commitments on polio eradication.  During meetings of the Commission on Africa in 2005, the Prime Minister had encouraged leaders of polio endemic countries, particularly Nigeria, to take swift action and finish the job of eradication. 

The UK is the second-largest government donor to polio eradication, and Mr. Benn called on other donors to help meet the US$ 85 million funding gap for 2006 activities. 

On 4 May, Professor Konare of the African Union received his award in a ceremony in Abuja. In 2004, Professor Konare was instrumental in the launch of the West and Central Africa Synchronized National Immunization days, personally dispensing drops at the opening ceremony for the immunization activities, which reached over 80 million children in 23 African countries.  He has also consistently ensured that polio eradication maintain high priority on the African Union's agenda. The award recognizes Professor Konare’s efforts as AU Commission Chairperson as well as his dedication to eradication during his tenure as President of Mali, when he also served as the Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States and officially launched the first ever regional synchronized polio immunization activities.

In receiving the award, Mr Blair and Professor Konare join a group of other distinguished leaders whom Rotary has honoured, including UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and  Former US President Bill Clinton and President.

8 May

Mumbai lab fire: some work resumes

Less than one week after a fire destroyed the polio laboratory in Mumbai, testing of poliovirus samples was back on track thanks to support from partner labs that have stepped in to make up the capacity shortfall. Two weeks on, special response plans have been put in place to ensure that needs for intra-typic differentiation (ITD) and genetic sequencing of poliovirus are met.

The Global Specialised Laboratory, which processes nearly 30,000 samples every year, suffered a fire on the morning of 21 April. No staff were hurt. The fire damaged those parts of the lab that specialise in genetic sequencing of polio samples from the entire Southeast Asian region to determine the origin of each virus. The fire destroyed machinery of a combined value of well over US$ 1 million. The expected delay in returning to full capacity is three to four months. 

The Indian Council for Medical Research, the parent body of the Global Specialised Laboratory, is supporting clean-up and renovation. Its assistance is enabling poliovirus investigation, specifically ITD and sequencing of viruses, to continue with minimal impact on the programme. The genetic sequencing carried out at the lab is essential to determining the transmission links among viruses and planning immunization responses. The fire occurred even as the lab  was participating in a multi-laboratory collaborative study coordinated by WHO to evaluate new strategies to increase the speed of poliovirus detection. WHO will be collaborating with partner agencies to mobilize resources for replacing equipment lost in the fire and restore capacity as soon as possible.
 

1 May 2006
Nigeria polio update: enhanced activities planned due to increased incidence in parts of northern Nigeria

While 22 of Nigeria's 37 states have not reported polio in the past six months, the country as a whole has triple the number of cases it did at this time last year. Five key states – Bauchi, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina – account for 80% of all cases in 2006 in Nigeria and 56% of global cases. In these states, data collected through the surveillance system suggests that immunization campaigns continue to miss more than 40% of children.

In Kano state, a pilot phase for these IPDs were held from 24 April. Kano  expanded the extent of the pilot from 1 to 8 of the metropolitan Local Government Areas – the administrative units that make up a state – with the highest disease burden.  Only trained health workers provided the health interventions at the fixed sites.

More on polio eradication in Nigeria.