Violence and civil strife threaten return of polio

Civil war, insecurity and violence stand in the way of the world becoming 100% free of polio. The crippling disease, which has made a resurgence in countries such as Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria, was almost completely eradicated thanks to an initiative by the World Health Organization, Rotary International and UNICEF.

Dr Sajjad Karim, British Conservative MEP and chairman of the Friends of Pakistan group, hosted a high-level round table discussion in the European Parliament on the challenges and opportunities of polio eradication. The British politician opened the discussion and said: “There is the sharp issue of security for people who are delivering anti-polio programmes in places such as Pakistan. As the Chair of the European Parliament Friends of Pakistan group, I would say that it is not a lack of commitment with either the previous or the current government. What is missing is a holistic approach to deal with the ongoing issues.”

Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs spoke of the renewed effort of the European Commission in tackling the disease. He said: “Nigeria and Afghanistan are now the focus, with €258 million and €85m being spent respectively over the past seven years. From this we are seeing promising results.”

The mood of the conference was positive and upbeat with a variety of issues regarding polio being discussed, such as the development of vaccinations to distribution in remote and inaccessible places. Dr Hamid Jafari, the director of polio operations in the World Health Organisation, celebrated the fact that India was now completely polio free. He said: "Eradication attacks inequities; the ultimate in social justice. Polio eradication remains feasible as demonstrated by the progress made.  So far we have seen 10m cases averted and 1.5m deaths averted since the start of the programme.”

The round table discussion was organised with Rotary International who have spearheaded anti-polio efforts worldwide. Dr Bob Scott from the Rotary International said: “$10 billion of global investment has already been made. The disease is particularly harsh, especially affecting children under the age of five.  If we stop with the immunisation programme, up to 200,000 children will be paralysed annually by 2022. We have the technical tools but will fail without funding".

The round table discussion was particularly well attended with attendance from the Pakistani Ambassador to the EU, Munawar Saeed Bhatti, and a representative from the Nigerian embassy, Ms Irana.

- The round table discussion was entitled: 'Challenges and Opportunities for Polio Eradication’.

- The discussion took place on Tuesday 28January 2014 in the European Parliament.

- Speakers at the discussion were:

 - Gay Mitchell, MEP, DEVE Committee

- Andris Piebalgs, European Commissioner for Development

- Peter Crowley, Head of Polio Team, UNICEF

- Dr. Hamid Jafari, Director Polio Operations and Research, WHO

- Alexander Woollcombe, UK and EU Policy and External Relations Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

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