Chasing polio in Pakistan: Why the world’s largest public health initiative may fail

Svea Closser. Vanderbilt University Press. Nashville, Tennessee, USA. 2010. 256 pp. $59.95. ISBN: 978-0-826-51708-1 (hardcover).

The detailed operational information Closser has gathered and described so vividly cannot be found in PEI reports or scientific reviews. Hers is a revelation of problems that erode the daily implementation of the eradication initiative in Pakistan. In her conclusion, Closser states that “awareness of power relationships and resistance as well as formal planning for institutional flexibility would, I believe, better position eradication programs to reach their goals. Taking these steps might shift the balance from the possible toward the probable.” Those responsible for overall direction of the PEI would do well to read and consider her presentation. This reviewer, who has lengthy experience at the CDC and WHO levels, is persuaded that her refreshing anthropological approach may provide solutions to the persistent challenges that have postponed for more than a decade the attainment of global eradication of polio.

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