Polio vaccination campaign aims to reach 14m children

With a polio outbreak spreading rapidly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), UN Daily News reports that the Executive Director of UNICEF will visit the country to help support a mass campaign to vaccinate over 14 million children. The DRC has witnessed a sharp resurgence of polio as conditions in the country continue to [...]

UK Govt. and Gates Foundation announce new commitment to eradicating Polio

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Bill Gates announced that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has committed an additional $102 million to support efforts to eradicate Polio.  British Prime Minister David Cameron also announced that the United Kingdom would double its current contribution to polio eradication (to a total of 60 million pounds). [...]

US and Russia partner to eradicate polio around the world

Today, the U.S. government and the government of the Russian Federation, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation (MOHSD), signed a Protocol of Intent on Cooperation for the Global Eradication of Polio.

Progress in global public health threatened by funding shortfalls

Last year was full of “big events” for public health, including the launch of a new meningitis vaccine and an aggressive new strategy for polio eradication, the head of the United Nations health agency said today, while stressing the need to ensure that progress is maintained in the year ahead.  (UN Daily News) Margaret Chan, [...]

Economic benefits of polio eradication estimated at US$40-50 billion

A new study, published in the journal Vaccine, estimates that the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) could provide net benefits of at least US$40-50 billion if transmission of wild polioviruses is interrupted within the next five years. The study considers investments made since the GPEI was formed in 1988 and those anticipated through 2035. Over [...]

Polio outbreak in Congo kills nearly 100

Polio has killed nearly 100 people, mainly young adults, in the Republic of Congo and paralyzed more than twice as many in the past six weeks, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and a report from Reuters. The crippling viral disease normally strikes children under five years of age, making the acute, fast-spreading outbreak [...]

Polio in retreat – a feature in Scientific American

An interesting article from Scientific American on global efforts to eradicate polio, and recent indicators of significant progress in regions of India where the virus used to be prevalent. Polio in Retreat: New Cases Nearly Eliminated Where Virus Once Flourished New cases in key Indian states are hovering near zero—unprecedented, historic lows—suggesting that a long-time [...]

Polio outbreak in Angola – UN launches mass immunization campaign

A polio immunization campaign targeting 5.6 million children was launched in Angola yesterday as the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the southern African country was quickly becoming the greatest threat to continent-wide eradication efforts. (UN News) Only three African countries have recorded cases of the highly infectious and potentially lethal disease in [...]

Global polio eradication initiative launches 2010-2012 strategy

In Geneva this Friday, a broad range of stakeholders will formally launch the new Strategic Plan 2010-2012 for eradicating wild poliovirus (WHO newsroom). Last month, the World Health Assembly welcomed the new plan while expressing deep concern about the US$ 1.3 billion funding shortfall (out of a budget of US$ 2.6 billion) over the next [...]

1.2 million Afghan children protected from polio

The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) has vaccinated more than 1.2 million children in Afghanistan against polio after an outbreak of the sometimes deadly disease in neighbouring Tajikistan, where it was thought to have been eradicated nearly one decade ago.  (UN Daily News) Polio, sometimes called poliomyelitis, is a highly infectious and sometimes fatal [...]