Financial Resource Requirements for 2008-2012
Full report (pdf) English. French will be available soon.

May 2008

Between February and May 2008, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative received new contributions totalling nearly US$ 40 million for activities for 2008 and 2009. These funds are a critical injection of cash into the intensified polio eradication effort, which was launched in February 2007 at a stakeholder consultation, convened by the World Health Organization's (WHO) Director-General Dr Margaret Chan. 

The intensified effort resulted in important progress achieved in 2007 towards the goal of eradicating polio. Of particular note:

• curbing transmission of type 1 poliovirus globally (widely regarded as the more dangerous of the two remaining serotypes, due to its higher paralytic attack rate and propensity for geographic spread), with an 81% decrease over previous year - 2007 is the year with the lowest-ever recorded incidence of type 1 polio;

• reducing type 1 transmission in some of the most historically-important type 1 reservoirs, notably western Uttar Pradesh, India, where no type 1 has been reported in over a year;

• reducing the number of 'missed' children in northern Nigeria;

• restricting polio transmission in the four remaining endemic countries (Nigeria, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan) to specific, geographically-limited areas; and,

• successfully stopping originally-imported poliovirus transmission in 24 of 26 countries re-infected in 2003-2006. 

In November 2007, the Advisory Committee on Poliomyelitis Eradication (ACPE) - the independent advisory body to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative - at its annual meeting, reviewed and commended the epidemiological progress from 2007. The ACPE endorsed the Global Polio Eradication Initiative strategic priorities to stop transmission of type 1 polio globally by end-2008, and type 3 polio globally by end-2009, by further intensifying the eradication effort in 2008-2009. 

These recommendations for a further intensification of the eradication effort have significant budgetary implications, increasing the previous 2008-2009 budget by 60%. For 2008-2009, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative faces a global funding gap of US$ 490 million, of which US$ 135 million is needed in 2008. With the near-term feasibility of polio eradication re-affirmed by the ACPE, critical to success will be the urgent role of development partners, to commit multi-year funding to protect the gains of 2007 and set the stage to finally stop transmission of wild poliovirus in 2009.

"As an international community, we have few opportunities to do something that is unquestionably good for every country and every child, in perpetuity. Polio eradication is one of these opportunities." Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General, World Health Organization, addressing an urgent stakeholder consultation on polio eradication on 28 February 2007.