In 1985, Rotary International launched PolioPlus, a
global effort to eradicate polio. At the time, more than 350,000 children were
paralysed every single year, in more than 125 endemic countries. Since then, thanks to a unique global
public-private partnership called the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, wild
poliovirus has been reduced by 99%. This
year, only two wild poliovirus cases have been reported, from Afghanistan and
Pakistan. The world stands on the
threshold of a unique public health success – the worldwide eradication of a
disease for only the second time in history (after the eradication of smallpox
in 1980).
Our member Oliver Rosenbauer,
Spokesperson, Global Polio Eradiation Initiative, World Health
Organizatio, will give an
overview of the latest epidemiological situation, and remaining challenges
which must be overcome to achieve a lasting polio-free world once and for all.
