Fight against Polio Takes a Step Forward

This Rotary International [RI] News piece reports on a new collaborative effort launched to rid the world of polio. As detailed here, a panel was held at the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) headquarters in New York City in the United States (US) on December 2 2009. This discussion stemmed from an announcement made in June of that year by US President Barack Obama that the US government will be strengthening collaboration with the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in an attempt to eradicate the disease. Though polio is 99% eradicated, reaching children who live in areas torn apart by conflict or political upheaval has been a major hurdle.

Emphasising the value of partnership, panelists speaking stressed that the battle against polio may be won or lost depending on how well all sectors of society can work together, including governmental and nongovernmental agencies and religious organisations. Dr. Bruce Aylward, director of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) at the World Health Organization (WHO), said eradication is possible through some very simple methods - but only if the political will is there. Ambassador Frederick D. Barton, US representative to the Economic and Social Council of the UN, said that addressing the challenges of ending the disease requires trust in the GPEI partners and confidence in the solutions offered.

"In the areas where polio maintains its last strongholds, misinformation and conflict continue to impede workers' ability to vaccinate children." Thus, the OIC has been on the forefront of the fight to eradicate the disease in many Muslim countries. Ambassador Abdul Wahab, permanent observer of the OIC to the United Nations (UN), stresses that vaccinating children against polio is consistent with teachings in the Quran to make every possible effort to take care of children. Wahab also reported that the OIC secretary-general has helped secure funding for polio eradication and contacted the presidents of Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan to encourage them to strengthen their efforts in support of eradicating the disease. The International Islamic Fiqh Academy has issued an edict, or fatwa, about the importance of parents getting their children vaccinated against polio.

Encouraging continued determination and collaboration, James L. Lacy (past RI President and current chair of RI's Polio Eradication Task Force for the US) said Rotarians who remember what it was like to fear polio will do whatever it takes to end it. "We have to keep pressing ahead. And it takes every one of us to do what we can."