In some way it is unfortunate that our polio eradication campaign is now getting close to success when the world is focused on a different disease. We need to keep reminding ourselves that when we began our efforts and drew together the partnership to eradicate polio, there were about 1000 children each day dying from the disease and many more paralysed. We had no real idea of how long it would take but we were determined to succeed.We have those two countries where wild polio remains and there were four cases in Afghanistan in 2021 and one in Pakistan. This year, to April 12, there is one case in each country. Malawi reported a case in February but it was imported. It still had to be addressed and currently a four nation vaccination campaign is being implemented.
There have been 34 vaccine derived cases so far this year and these cases are inevitable while we are mopping up the remaining wild virus in the world. They are why we need to keep immunising and while we still need to finance the polio campaign until we reach the end. Fortunately, the Gates Foundation is staying with us and each year is subsidising our fundraising 2 for 1. When we are asked as a club to contribute to the polio campaign, it is because the end of polio is near but not yet here!
