26 April 2017 – At the heart of the polio eradication effort are thousands of individuals working to reach every last child with vaccines and find every last virus through the polio surveillance system. As part of World Immunization Week, new polio-themed animated videos are being launched focusing on the Polio Surveillance System and Reaching Every Last Child to show the scope and complexity of the global drive to end this paralysing disease and highlight the role of WHO.
The polio eradication effort is one of the biggest public health programmes in the world, reaching over 400 million children with polio vaccines every single year. Since its inception in 1988, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) has reduced cases of paralysis caused by polio by 99.99%, bringing the historic goal of eradicating the second disease in history within reach.
WHO is a partner of the GPEI, alongside and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rotary, UNICEF and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Reaching Every Last Child
Some children live in places that are harder to reach with polio vaccines than others. In every vulnerable country, WHO helps make sure that every child receives polio vaccines, even those who are on the move, living in conflict zones or in remote communities.
Find out more at www.polioeradication.org.
The Polio Surveillance System
The search for the poliovirus is triggered when any child is found with acute flaccid paralysis. From the most remote communities to the laboratory, WHO makes sure that the pieces of the surveillance system work together so that if the poliovirus is circulating anywhere in the world it will be found – and stopped.
Find out more at www.polioeradication.org
