WHO - November 2011
Polio was once a disease feared worldwide, striking suddenly and paralysing mainly children for life. WHO is a partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, the largest private-public partnership for health, which has reduced polio by 99%. Polio now survives only among the world's poorest and most marginalized communities, where it stalks the most vulnerable children. The Initiative's goal is to reach every last child with polio vaccine and ensure a polio-free world for future generations.
![]() Sephi Bergerson |
1. Polio continues to paralyse childrenWhile polio is a distant memory in most of the world, the disease still exists in some places and mainly affects children under five. One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis (usually in the legs). Among those paralysed, 5% to 10% die when their breathing muscles become immobilized. |
![]() UNICEF/Gaurav Osan |
2. We are 99% of the way to eradicating polio globallyIn 1988, when the Global Polio Eradication Initiative was formed, polio paralysed more than 350 000 people a year. Since that time, polio case numbers have decreased by more than 99%.
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![]() WHO/Anna-Lea Kahn |
3. There are just four countries which have never stopped transmission of polioThe four countries are Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan. They face a range of challenges such as insecurity, weak health systems and poor sanitation. Polio can spread from these 'endemic' countries to infect children in other countries with less-than-adequate vaccination. |
![]() WHO/Sigrun Roesel |
4. Unlike most diseases, polio can be completely eradicatedThere are three strains of wild poliovirus, none of which can survive for long periods outside of the human body. If the virus cannot find an unvaccinated person to infect, it will die out. Type 2 wild poliovirus was eradicated in 1999. |
![]() WHO/Sigrun Roesel |
5. Cheap and effective vaccines are available to prevent polioThere are two forms of vaccine available to ward off polio - oral polio vaccine (OPV) and inactivated polio vaccine (IPV). Because OPV is an oral vaccine, it can be administered by anyone, even volunteers. One dose of OPV can cost as little as 11 US cents. |
![]() WHO/Chris Black |
6. The global effort to eradicate polio is the largest public-private partnership for public healthIn fact, it is the largest-ever peacetime mobilization of people. It involves four spearheading partner organizations (WHO, Rotary International, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and UNICEF), polio-affected and donor governments, private foundations, development banks, humanitarian and non-governmental organizations, corporate partners and more than 20 million volunteers. |
![]() Rotary International/Richard Wainwright |
7. Large-scale vaccination rounds help rapidly boost immunityThe Global Polio Eradication Initiative assists countries in carrying out surveillance for polio and large-scale vaccination rounds. In just one round of the national immunization days in India there are 640 000 vaccination booths, 2.3 million vaccinators, 200 million doses of vaccine, 6.3 million ice packs, 191 million homes visited and 172 million children immunized. |
![]() WHO/Christine Lamoureux |
8. Every child must be vaccinated to eradicate polioThis includes those living in the most remote and/or underserved places on the planet. 'Days of Tranquility' are negotiated so that vaccination teams can reach children living in conflict zones. All manner of transport is used – from donkeys to motorbikes to helicopters – to reach children in remote areas or difficult terrain. |
![]() WHO/Thomas Moran |
9. Polio-funded staff, strategies and resources are also used to advance other health initiativesStrategies to find and map every child can be applied to other public health initiatives. While a vaccination team is in a remote village, they can, for little additional cost, provide other health interventions while they are there. For example, vitamin A has been given alongside polio campaigns. Since vitamin A gives a general boost to immunity, it allows children to fend off a range of infections, this has averted more than 1.2 million deaths. |
![]() WHO/Armando Waak |
10. We can eradicate polioMore than 20 years ago, this little boy was the last child to be paralysed by polio in the WHO Region of the Americas. The WHO Western Pacific Region was declared polio free in 2000 and the WHO European Region in 2002. The world could be freed of the threat of polio - with everyone's commitment, from parent to government worker and political leader to the international community. |