Polio – A global emergency

As polio cases escalate in Nigeria and Pakistan, the world is facing an emergency – a resurgence of polio if the virus is not eradicated once and for all. If the global effort to eradicate polio fails, within just a decade 250,000 children each year could be paralysed or die as a result of the disease.

Prevention is so simple - just a couple of drops can save a life – yet the world has so far struggled to eradicate the disease once and for all. It is now or never for polio eradication.

Aware of the necessity of finishing the job as quickly as possible, key polio-affected countries and partner agencies of the GPEI have ramped up their organization-wide dedication to the disease’s eradication. Heads of agencies will step up their level of oversight over the programme, and accountability measures are being put in place to indentify both underperforming and outstanding staff.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have moved their headquarters-level polio work to their Emergency Operations Center, and the polio department of the World Health Organization is currently working from the Strategic Health Operations Centre until a new high-tech operations centre for polio is fully functional by end-January. As key countries ramp up their emergency action plans, these operations centres enable closer support, real-time data sharing and more, as seen during natural disasters and pandemics.

Source: Polio Global Eradication Initiative, available at: http://www.polioeradication.org/Mediaroom/NewsletterPolioNews.aspx