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POLIO NEWS September 2022
Dear polio eradication supporter,
Alongside exciting musical acts and celebrity appearances, this year’s Global Citizen Festival featured an important announcement from Rotary International: a US$ 150 million pledge to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI)! Ahead of GPEI’s critical pledging moment at the World Health Summit in October—where the program is seeking US$ 4.8 billion for its strategy to end polio for good—Jennifer Jones, Rotary International President, renewed the organization’s longstanding commitment to polio eradication. Rotary wasn’t alone, with Malta pledging an additional €30 000 to GPEI’s efforts. Fully funding the GPEI’s strategy will help protect children everywhere from polio and strengthen health systems all over the globe. On 18 October, it is critical that donors show up to take the stage, make their pledge, and help us to deliver a healthier world. We look forward to continuing this momentum through World Polio Day on 24 October, when Rotarians will host thousands of polio fundraising events around the globe.
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Ready to respond to an old threat in Africa
The return of wild poliovirus to Africa was a shock to many—including Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. In a new op-ed, she reflects on how the region was able to overcome the virus and earn its wild polio-free certification in 2020, and what actions must be taken by countries and global partners now, upon its re-emergence. Equipped with decades of experience in effective disease surveillance and immunization, as well as new tools like the novel oral polio vaccine (nOPV2), the region will once again kick out wild polio and prevail against all forms of the virus.
Continuing a royal legacy supporting polio eradication
With deep sadness amid the loss of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the GPEI reflects on how the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth, and its leaders have long been important supporters of global polio eradication efforts. Over the years, His Majesty King Charles III has been personally invested in building a future without polio, adding his voice and commitment to advocacy efforts and taking special interest in vaccination in polio-affected countries. The GPEI welcomes his support on the path to a polio-free world.
Determined to beat polio—and breast cancer
Nomina Akhtar has been a community polio worker in Pakistan since 2015, one of the many women who play a critical role in ending polio for good. But when her world collapsed in 2021 after being diagnosed with stage-3 breast cancer, she didn’t let the diagnosis and exhausting treatment stop her from keeping her community safe. Thanks to the support of her family and her community, Nomina continues to travel door-to-door, providing polio vaccines to protect children from this virus, and remains committed to beating polio—and breast cancer—soon.
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POLIO IN NUMBERS
Wild Poliovirus in 2022 (2021)*
Global Total: 27 (2)
Circulating Vaccine Derived Poliovirus in 2022 (2021)*
Global Total: 359 (286)
*Data as of 27 September 2022. Numbers in brackets represent data at this time in 2021.
Breakdown by country Polio this week
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POLIO IN THE NEWS
The Atlantic: Polio is exploiting a very human weakness. (Katherine Wu, 16 September 2022)
POLITICO EU: A rude awakening: The return of polio to the West (Ashleigh Furlong, 13 September 2022)
Science: Polio is back rich countries, but it poses a far bigger threat to developing world. (Leslie Roberts, 13 September 2022)
WHO: Science in 5: Is poliovirus making a comeback? (23 September 2022)
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Rotary International President Jennifer Jones pledges US$ 150 million to the GPEI at the Global Citizen Festival in New York City, on 24 September 2022. ©Rotary International
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