POLIO UPDATE NOVEMBER 2008

The November 2008 Polio Eradication newsletter from Keith Hammond is available here. This is a PDF file and requires Adobe Acrobat reader.

POLIO UPDATE JULY 2008

The July 2008 Polio Eradication newsletter from Keith Hammond is available here. This is a PDF file and requires Adobe Acrobat reader.

POLIO UPDATE AUGUST 2007

BBC SCIENCE - Polio: Rumour That Became a Crisis

Broadcast Thursday 2 August 2007 21:00-21:30 (Radio 4 FM)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/pip/ew1cp/

Ania Lichtarowicz looks at the boycott against polio vaccine instigated by leaders in parts of northern Nigeria in 2003 and its tragic consequences. The resurgence of a disease on the brink of worldwide eradication spread across 22 countries.

Please note that this recording may only be available for a limited time

Polio immunization campaign to protect nearly 5 million children in north of Sudan

Additional effort comes in face of polio case reported in neighbouring Chad

Khartoum, 5 August 2007. An estimated 4.9 million children across the north of Sudan will be targeted in a special round of polio immunization starting on Monday 6 August. Led by the Ministry of Health and backed by UNICEF, WHO and other partners, the three day campaign to protect children against the virus comes in response to reports of polio being discovered in neighbouring Chad.

Speaking today, UNICEF Representative Ted Chaiban noted that Sudan had not reported any cases of polio itself since 2005. “In the last few years, incredible efforts in the face of many challenges have led us to a point where polio could soon be stamped out in Sudan,” he said. “But because polio respects no borders, we have to ensure that when cases are found close to home, we redouble our efforts to protect children.”

WHO Representative Dr Mohamed Aburrab underscores that surveillance is as important as immunization to the success of Sudan’s polio eradication programme. He adds, “in order to eradicate polio, it is necessary to search out not only the polio cases, but also conditions that may resemble polio clinically.” Since 2000, the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) and WHO have established an active and sensitive Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) Surveillance system in Sudan.

Regular polio immunization campaigns have taken place throughout Sudan, even in conflict-affected Darfur where UNICEF, WHO and other agencies have managed to win the support of all partners to ensure safe access for vaccinators. However increased population displacement, porous borders with neighbouring countries, and continued insecurity being a threat to vaccination efforts, next week’s campaign will remain a major logistical challenge. In addition, recent heavy rains and flooding in many parts of the north of Sudan implies some gaps in the latest campaign and children may be missed out in the non accessible areas. Therefore, plans are being developed to reach out to such areas using all available means. Such children missed out in the campaign will be reached at the first opportunity that allows an access to the missing areas.

The immunization drive will cover all 15 states in the north of Sudan, with planners hoping to reach at least 82 percent of children under the age of five. Tens of thousands of vaccinators will travel house to house, administering the oral polio vaccine.

The last three-day vaccination campaign took place in the end of April 2007 when more than 6 million children were reached. Annually, Sudan stages regular campaigns during the year, with vaccine provided by UNICEF and trainings for volunteer vaccinators and half of the operational costs for the campaign were supported by WHO. Vaccinators themselves are sourced through local State Ministries of Health, NGOs and from amongst local communities.

The polio eradication effort in Sudan is supported by a number of donors, including the CDC, Rotary International, USAID, DFID, Government of Japan, the World Bank, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, amongst others

Source: World Health Organization (WHO)
Date: 05 Aug 2007

POLIO UPDATE NOVEMBER 2005

The WHO has a new slogan regarding Polio Eradication: “Now, More Than Ever: Stop Polio Forever”

To some it might seem that this programme drags on and on but when we realise the enormity of the task and the difficulties that have to be overcome I think we can remain reassured that the target of a Polio Free world will be reached within the forseeable future. What is certain is that we must continue our efforts and Rotary with its partners – the WHO, the USCDC and UNICEF, together with donations from Governments, is doing just this.

The greatest danger is complacency and the easing of the drive to continue with immunisations in affected countries. Rotary International has the determination and commitment to continue its efforts until the world is free from polio and the scourge of death and limb damaged children, and all that that means in the developing world, is removed.

I mentioned last year the problems that were besetting the programme. These mainly stemmed from Nigeria when in particular misunderstandings resulted in:

• The cessation of Immunisation particularly in the Kano region of the country.
• This cessation in Immunisation resulted in 12 formerly polio-free African countries becoming re-infected.
• Since then there have been major outbreaks in 2 countries - Indonesia and the Yemen – both of which were polio free for several years.
  This highlights that:

• It is vital to continue efforts until all polio has been eradicated
• "None are safe till all our safe”
• Otherwise all the effort, time and money spent will have been wasted

• Add to the above the additions problems this year:

• The earthquake in Pakistan
• War and conflict areas
• The droughts in Africa – notably the Darfur region
• The famine in Niger and other subsaharan countries
• The difficulty of reaching such places to conduct National immunisations

This shows the obstacles that have to be overcome to achieve our goal. This all may sound a bit depressing. I assure you that it is not.

At the RI Convention in Chicago in June I heard Bruce Aylward from the WHO speak positively about the situation despite the problems mentioned above.

1. The WHO is convinced that Polio will be eradicated in the Asian subcontinent within the next year.
2. Countries that were reinfected last year have had intense campaigns of polio immunisation and the outbreaks are coming under control. Such campaigns now start more quickly after the confirmation of a case and involve house to house immunisation.
3. Even in the Yemen and Indonesia where large numbers of cases have been reported the outbreaks are being controlled due to intensive campaigns of immunisation.

Incidentally he and other speakers recognised the commitment of Rotary and were all certain that we would not be where we are now were it not for the efforts of Rotary and Rotarians.

SO WHERE ARE WE NOW? Immunisation is well established again in Nigeria and other African countries. There are 6 countries with endemic polio (Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Niger, Afghanistan and Egypt) and 10 countries which have been re-infected (Somalia, Yemen, Indonesia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Angola, Mali, Cameroon, Chad and Eritrea).

The latest figures on 1st November 2005 (in red) (In black November 2004 figures)

There are other countries in Africa with small numbers but all are reducing now.

A recent Quotation from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative from the WHOsays:
“The state of polio eradication in 2005:

1. Commitment to polio eradication is at its highest ever thanks to visible progress inthe hardest endemic areas and powerful new tools like monovalent oral polio vaccines.
2. The necessary tools to eradicate polio are now in place. Stopping polio transmission can be completed rapidly, except in Nigeria. Nigeria will need an additional 12 months to finish the job, due to a 12-month suspension of immunizations in 2003-04.

The remaining challenges to a polio-free world are:

1. Primary challenge: Breaking the final chains of polio transmission in the endemic countries.
2. Acute challenge: Quickly stopping polio outbreaks in previously polio-free countries.
3. Cross-cutting challenges:

• Maintaining funding and political commitment
• Addressing low routine immunization rates in polio-free countries
• Ensuring sufficient vaccines are available

Polio eradication will only succeed if the necessary funds are made available, and with strong political commitment in polio-affected countries. Failure to finish polio will result in more than 10 million paralysed children in the next 40 years and a failure to capitalize on the US$4 billion global investment in a polio-free world”.

I firmly believe Rotary International will not let this happen.

Keith Hammond, 10th November 2005

Polio Plus Talking Points, 9th September 2005

Issued by Rotary International

Tremendous progress has been made toward current effort to end polio worldwide.
 

• In the two decades since Rotary and its global partners launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, polio cases have been slashed by 99 percent.
• 1,255 cases were reported in 2004, compared to 350,000 cases in 125 countries in 1988.
• 210 territories and areas are now polio-free, and 134 of these, which contain half the world’s population, have been certified polio-free by independent commissions.
• India, Pakistan and Afghanistan could be polio-free by the end of 2005.
• Wild poliovirus type 2 has not been found circulating anywhere in the world since 1999.
   

Overview of 2005 polio cases (as of 9 September)

 
Though great progress has been made, much work remains.

• By late 2003, the spread of polio had been interrupted in all but six countries (India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Niger, Egypt, Nigeria). Three of these countries (Nigeria, India and Pakistan) accounted for 90 percent of cases.
• Today, there are six polio endemic countries including Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Niger, Afghanistan and Egypt - and six countries where transmission has been re-established in the Sudan, Mali, Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Chad and Burkina Faso.
• An epidemic in west and central Africa, which began in mid-2003, caused the poliovirus to spread to 18 previously polio-free countries. (Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Indonesia, Mali, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Togo and Yemen)
• While such outbreaks in previously polio-free countries are a setback, they do not pose a major threat to the global effort to eradicate polio.
• The greater risk to global polio eradication remains the ongoing spread of polio in the remaining six endemic countries (Nigeria, Niger, Egypt, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan), from where the poliovirus can be exported to polio-free areas.
• Africa’s polio eradication efforts are back on track, following the successful implementation of the series of multi-national, synchronized immunization campaigns in 2004 and 2005.
• Stopping the spread of polio in Africa by the end of 2005 will require extraordinary and rapid improvement in the quality of immunization campaigns, especially in northern Nigeria and countries affected by civil unrest.

Rotary and its global partners are taking action

• Reaching every child during these campaigns is critical to the success of polio eradication, in the face of the ongoing spread of poliovirus.
• As of 6 September, 60% of all global cases have been reported in the outbreaks in Indonesia, Sudan and Yemen.
• All three countries have now conducted a minimum of three large-scale immunization campaigns in response to the outbreaks.
• Epidemiological evidence demonstrates that in all three countries, the number of reported cases continues to decline week by week, indicating good impact of the immunization campaigns.
• Multi-national, synchronized campaigns have been conducted across 23 countries in west and central Africa, reaching more than 100 million children each time.

Rotary clubs around the world have contributed to the goal of eradicating polio.

• Rotary members have donated their time and money to help immunize more than 2 billion children in 122 countries.
• Rotary is the largest private supporter of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. By the time the world is certified polio-free, Rotary’s contributions to the global polio eradication effort will exceed US$600 million.
• In addition to raising and contributing funds, Rotary has provided an army of volunteers to promote and assist during national immunization campaigns. Rotary members assist with vaccine delivery, social mobilization, and administer the oral polio vaccine to children.
• Rotary’s community-based leadership, volunteer support and initial funding for vaccine were the catalyst for the World Health Assembly's resolution in 1988 to eradicate polio.

Rotary will continue the fight until the world is certified polio-free and every child is safe from this devastating disease

• PolioPlus is Rotary 's priority program and both the Board of Directors and the Foundation Trustees reaffirmed Rotary's commitment to the program until the world is certified polio-free.
• Once eradicated, polio will be the second disease after smallpox ever to be eliminated worldwide.
• Rotary is an organization of 1.2 million business and professional leaders united worldwide to provide humanitarian service, and help to build goodwill and peace in the world.
   

District Update October 2004

I thought you might like to know of the progress towards the eradication of polio hopefully by 2005. From the District point of view £119,398.30 has been raised towards the “Fulfil our Promise: Eradicate Polio” campaign. A magnificent effort by all clubs in District 1220.

As many of you will know there were major problems in Nigeria earlier this year which resulted in the cessation of Immunisation particularly in the Kano region of the country. The concern was because of erroneous reports about the oral vaccination being harmful especially to girls. This concern has now been removed thanks to the efforts of the WHO, Rotary and leaders within Nigeria and immunisation has now started again

Four million polio vaccinators, 300 million children, 25 countries: Africa launches largest-ever immunization campaign!

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo officially launched the campaign by personally administering the oral polio vaccine to children in the northern Nigerian city of Kano. The first child immunized by Obasanjo at the 2 October event was Zaina, the one-year-old daughter of Kano state governor Ibrahim Shekarau. "It is our resolve that all children aged between 1 and 59 months are immunized against this disease" Obasanjo said. "Let us receive our vaccination teams in our homes, at school, and in public places."

Kicking off the massive health event in Kano was highly symbolic, for it was there nearly a year ago that a polio epidemic started and quickly spread to 12 formerly polio-free African countries. The outbreak was caused by the suspension of immunization activities in Kano and several other northern Nigerian states, following widespread rumours that the oral polio vaccine was harmful.

The public immunization of the children of religious and political leaders is intended to bolster other confidence-building measures that the Nigerian government and the polio eradication partners have undertaken after proving that the oral polio vaccine is safe. In addition, the event signified a unified African response to the dangers posed by the polio outbreak.

The polio campaigns, which began on 8 October, are vital to protecting African children from a looming polio epidemic and getting Africa's polio eradication program back on track. Sub-Saharan Africa had made tremendous progress in eradicating polio, stopping the disease in all but two countries (Nigeria and Niger). Eighty million African children will receive the polio vaccine during house-to-house campaigns. A second round of NIDs will begin on 18 November, with similar activities planned throughout 2005.

The latest figures that I have for polio in 2004 (12th October) are 821 cases: Nigeria 624, India 68, Pakistan 31, Niger 20, Afghanistan 3, Egypt 1.

You can see the huge progress made in all countries excluding Nigeria. Hopefully this should now be resolved as I indicated above. Efforts will continue until the scourge of polio is removed from the world. Rotary continues to play a major role in the global effort.

Keith Hammond

District Polio Eradication Committee Chairman