UK at the forefront of fighting polio aiming to eliminate it globally by 2020 saving 45 million children
The UK is leading the final global push to eliminate polio around the world for good, International Development Secretary Priti Patel has announced.
Ms Patel has set out an additional £100 million ($130 million) to help end polio in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.
Polio was wiped out in the UK in the 1980s and there are more than 100,000 British survivors today. Globally, the wild poliovirus still exists in Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan, with eight new cases this year. Out of these, three cases were reported from Pakistan.
Commenting on the announcement, the head of UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) in Pakistan, Joanna Reid said: “2017 could be the year when Pakistan defeats polio. DFID will help to give that final push but the credit goes to Pakistanis from all levels of society who continue to make commitments, spread the message and go door to door to vaccinate children.
“They’ve done a great job already – not a single case has been reported from FATA, one of the most challenging areas to reach. Let’s go that last mile together”
It is likely that the last new case of polio will be diagnosed this year, paving the way for the world to be certified polio-free in 2020.
It is hoped that this last push will immunise 45 million children against the disease each year until 2020 – that is 80 children a minute.
Britain has had a long-standing commitment to making polio the second human disease in history to be eradicated, after smallpox.
As a direct result of the UK’s support to global efforts, which began in 1988, more than 16 million people are walking today who would have otherwise been paralysed, and the number of people contracting the disease has been reduced by 99.9%.
International Development Secretary Priti Patel said: “Polio has no place in the 21st Century. This devastating and highly infectious disease causes painful paralysis and is incurable – trapping the world’s poorest people in a cycle of grinding poverty.
“The world is closer than it ever has been to eradicating polio for good, but as long as just one case exists in the world, children everywhere are still at risk. Now it is time for others to step up, follow Britain’s lead and make polio history.”
This last push will help break the relentless cycle of poverty for millions more children so they can live healthier lives, go to school and then get a job. It will mean more people contributing to their economy, which will help their countries to grow and become more prosperous.
UK’s Polio Eradication Plan
- To immunise up to 45 million children against the disease each year until 2020 – that is 80 children a minute
- Save more than 65,000 children from paralysis every year
- Help over 15,000 polio workers reach every last child with life-saving vaccines and other health interventions
- Help save almost £2 billion globally by 2035, as health care systems are freed up from treating polio victims
