Newsnet: putting an end to polio

UNICEF has been battling polio for decades. In 1988, UNICEF teamed up with a coalition of organizations and governments to launch a hugely ambitious partnership called the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Since then, incidence of polio has dropped by more than 99 percent. Still, polio hangs on. While endemic in only four countries -- Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, and Nigeria -- polio does not respect borders or sovereignty. And all it takes for the disease to spread is for only a few people to remain unvaccinated. Even in places where it has been eliminated, just a handful of new polio cases can reverse decades of work.

UNICEF has been battling polio for decades. In 1988, UNICEF teamed up with a coalition of organizations and governments to launch a hugely ambitious partnership called the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Since then, incidence of polio has dropped by more than 99 percent. Still, polio hangs on. While endemic in only four countries -- Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, and Nigeria -- polio does not respect borders or sovereignty. And all it takes for the disease to spread is for only a few people to remain unvaccinated. Even in places where it has been eliminated, just a handful of new polio cases can reverse decades of work.

Adam Fifield is in the Editorial & Creative Services Department at the U.S. Fund.

Polio terrorized America during the 1950s. The highly contagious, crippling, and lethal disease afflicted young and old alike, cutting short lives and withering limbs and futures. Polio cleared out swimming pools, parks, and beaches, as parents kept their children away from public places. The illness spared no one -- it had struck Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1921 and confined the future President to a wheelchair. In 1955, a vaccine developed by Jonas Salk and his team of scientists at the University of Pittsburgh was approved for widespread use, and polio rates plummeted nationwide. By 1979, the virus was eliminated in the U.S.

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Video report on latest UNICEF-supported vaccination round in DR Congo.

But the story does not end there. In fact, this incurable but preventable disease that should belong to a bygone era still quietly claims victims in often forgotten corners of the world -- places where the poorest and most marginalized do not receive the polio vaccine.

Just recently, an alarming and fast-moving polio outbreak has struck several African countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The outbreak has received a moderate level of coverage from the Associated Press, The New York Times, Reuters, IRIN, and other outlets. The news organizations noted the huge coordinated response of national governments and of UNICEF and its partners -- including Rotary International, the World Health Organization, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- to beat back the disease and immunize millions of children in its path.

UNICEF has been battling polio for decades. In 1988, UNICEF teamed up with a coalition of organizations and governments to launch a hugely ambitious partnership called the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Since then, incidence of polio has dropped by more than 99 percent. Still, polio hangs on. While endemic in only four countries -- Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, and Nigeria -- polio does not respect borders or sovereignty. And all it takes for the disease to spread is for only a few people to remain unvaccinated. Even in places where it has been eliminated, just a handful of new polio cases can reverse decades of work.

The DRC, for instance, was polio-free for several years, after successive immunization campaigns. But the country saw a reemergence of the disease in 2006, with 13 new cases, followed by 41 cases in 2007, five in 2008, and three in 2009. As of November 18, there were 56 cases. A UNICEF-supported immunization drive in the DRC is part of mass campaign aimed at reaching 72 million children across the African continent.

Polio is spread through water or food contaminated with human waste. The virus attacks the nervous system and can cause paralysis and death. In addition to immunization, clean water and good sanitation can help halt polio.

A challenge in some communities is convincing parents to allow children to be immunized. In addition to providing vaccines and supporting immunization drives, UNICEF also helps develop communication strategies that can be key to creating acceptance of the vaccines.

We cannot close the chapter on polio as long as any children remain unvaccinated. Which makes the current push extremely critical.