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United States
Leads Nations in Support for Ending Polio
Child receiving oral polio vaccine
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For more than 20 years, the
United States
has been the leading public-sector supporter of the Global Polio
Eradication Initiative, contributing more than $1.6 billion -- about
a quarter of all funding.
A major component
of the country’s support is the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), including more than $1.01 million in funding for
the agency in 2009. Along with the World Health Organization, Rotary
International, and UNICEF, the CDC is one of the spearheading
partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, providing
support such as
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More than 350
epidemiologists, virologists, and technical officers to assist
WHO and polio-endemic countries
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Funds to help
UNICEF pay for oral polio vaccine and the operational costs of
National Immunization Days (NIDs)
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Assistance to
WHO with surveillance, technical staff, and NID operational
costs
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Use of its Atlanta, Georgia, laboratories as a
global reference and training center and strong support for the
worldwide network of 145 polio laboratories
The highly
developed lab network, established as part of the end-polio
initiative, is also being used to track measles, rubella, yellow
fever, meningitis, and other deadly infectious diseases. Most
recently, polio health workers have been trained to recognize
symptoms of avian influenza to support surveillance and potential
outbreak response activities to this public health threat.
Another key
element of U.S.
support for polio eradication is USAID. On 18 March, Past RI
President James Lacy encouraged continued funding for USAID’s
end-polio efforts in a written testimony on behalf of RI before the
House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and
Related Programs.
“Prospects for
polio eradication are bright, but significant challenges remain,”
stated Lacy, who chairs RI’s Polio Eradication Advocacy Task Force
for the United States.
He pointed to operational challenges in reaching every child in the
four polio-endemic countries of
Afghanistan,
India, Nigeria, and Pakistan. “In addition, the need to
deal with outbreak response activities in countries such as the
Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola,
and Sudan
are tragic and costly reminders that no child is safe until polio
has been eradicated everywhere.”
Lacy cited several
ways in which USAID, with an annual $32 million budget for polio
eradication, is playing an effective role, including
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Supporting
rapid responses to polio outbreaks
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Working to
improve immunization coverage in
Nigeria’s highest-risk areas
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Funding
surveillance and laboratories in
Afghanistan,
India, Indonesia, and Pakistan
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Supporting
immunization at border crossings between
Afghanistan
and Pakistan
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Helping to
fund the training of almost 250,000 community-based mobilizers
in Angola,
Ethiopia,
India, and Nepal
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Ellyn Ogden of USAID holds a premature baby in
Afghanistan (Photo courtesy of USAID)
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Ellyn Ogden, worldwide polio eradication coordinator for USAID,
reflects the agency’s commitment to ending the disease. She has
negotiated cease-fires with armed groups in
Afghanistan, Angola, Congo, and other countries so
millions of children can be immunized. In January, she received the
USAID Award for Heroism.
“Polio doesn’t
wait for peace,” she says. “You have to vaccinate even in conflict.
Reaching children in times of conflict is a challenge.”
Unflagging public-
and private-sector support is critical to ending polio once and for
all, say the partners of the global effort.
“Rotary
International’s commitment will reach US$1.2 billion by the time the
world is certified polio-free -- a financial commitment that is
second only to that of the
U.S.
government,” Lacy said in his testimony. “The goal of a polio-free
world is within our grasp because polio eradication strategies work
even in the most challenging environments and circumstances.”
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