POLIO NEWS - April 2023

 

The latest polio eradication activities around the world this month in Polio News. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌
 
 

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POLIO NEWS                  April 2023

Dear polio eradication supporter,

Last month, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) recognized World Immunization Week: a critical moment for global solidarity behind reaching every child with the vaccines they need to stay healthy. The week launched with UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children report, which shone a light on the 67 million children who have missed out on vaccines since 2020 and the nearly 1 in 5 children who have never received a single vaccine. Without a “Big Catch-Up”—a global movement to quickly vaccinate millions of kids across the world—vaccine-preventable diseases once considered by many to be in the history books will make their return, and polio is at the top of the list. In support of this goal, Rotary and other partners highlighted the GPEI’s commitment to reaching all zero-dose children with polio vaccines, while WHO shared stories of the health workers who are helping deliver a polio-free world. In May, WHO Member States will come together to address the need to bolster immunization efforts at the World Health Assembly, including important discussions on polio eradication efforts and polio transition planning.

 

Leaving no child behind

© Pakistan Polio Eradication Program

On Danyal Sikandri’s first journey to vaccinate children in nomadic settlements across Pakistan, his nervousness turned into surprise when the community he reached happily brought their children forward to receive life-saving polio vaccines. Since the Nomads Immunization Initiative began in September 2022, health workers like Danyal have reached over 114 000 nomadic children with polio vaccines, bridging a crucial gap in Pakistan’s health system and effort to end polio for good.

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Creating positive change  

© UNICEF/UN0822740/Hassan Nazmi Ahmed

Adam Gorish Hamid’s family was shattered when his nephew, Mostafa, contracted polio in December 2022. Mostafa was never vaccinated against polio, and now is left to live with its debilitating impacts. Today, his uncle Hamid has chosen to help other families avoid this tragedy and is leading the fight against vaccine-preventable diseases as an advocate in his nomadic community in Sudan.

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Amplifying the voices of women health workers  

© WHO

Women play integral roles at all levels of the polio program—including in the lab, where they are driving the innovations to help shape solutions in polio eradication efforts. In Oman, Dr Hanan Al Kindi is the head of nine polio and measles laboratory departments that test samples from Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. However, her work has also taken her outside of the lab, where her incredible negotiation and communication skills have solved challenges like freeing samples stuck at border crossings. Read on for more about Dr. Al Kindi and three other inspiring women lab leaders from across the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

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POLIO IN NUMBERS

Wild Poliovirus in 2023 (2022)*

Global Total:  1 (2)

Circulating Vaccine Derived Poliovirus in 2023 (2022)*

Global Total:  61 (52)

*Data as of 26 April 2023. Numbers in brackets represent data at this time in 2022.

Breakdown by country Polio this week

 
 

POLIO IN THE NEWS

 

 

Dawn: What lies ahead for frontline polio workers in a polio-free Pakistan? (Yasal Munim, 25 April 2023)

Forbes: Inside look: Polio fight to the finish. [Interview with Mike McGovern of Rotary International] (Maryanne Murray Buechner, 25 April 2023)

Rotary: Tools and vision: How ending polio helps fight malaria. (Etelka Lehoczky, 25 April 2023)  

WHO: WHO’s Science in 5: Will the world eradicate polio in 2023? (21 April 2023)

UN Foundation: The ‘Big Catch Up’: The race to get childhood vaccinations back on track. (Megan Rabbitt, Dynahlee Padilla-Vasquez, 20 April 2023) 

The Telegraph: A rare form of polio threatens DR Congo – this is why it matters in the UK. (Andrei Popoviciu, 12 April 2023)

Devex: WHO targets unvaccinated children as top priority for polio eradication. (4 April 2023)

 

DONOR UPDATES

WHO would like to thank the Government of the United Kingdom (UK), through its Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), for its latest contribution of £15 million.  This generous support is part of the UK’s multi-year commitment to the global polio eradication effort.

UNICEF is grateful to the Government of Canada for its generous funding of Can$ 2.5 million to the polio eradication programme in Afghanistan to support essential vaccination activities.

 

PHOTO OF THE MONTH

A child in Sudan gets vaccinated against polio. © UNICEF/UN0822740/Hassan Nazmi Ahmed

A child in Sudan gets vaccinated against polio.
© UNICEF/UN0822740/Hassan Nazmi Ahmed 

 
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