Polio Eradication Update
Some interesting developments have occurred since my last update because of the effects of the pandemic.
Because of safety Covid-19 concerns for volunteers, and because of closed borders and scarcity of international flights, all surveillance and house-to-house supplementary immunization activities (SIA) have been suspended until at least July 1, and most iikely longer.
This suspension will cause a set-back in the overall program. Much of the international effort has now switched emphasis from 100% polio eradication to about 80% Covid-19 and 20% polio. Human, logistical, and financial resources have shifted to pandemic response. At country levels, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) personnel are making available emergency operations centers, as well as IT and transport. The polio network is being trained in COVID-19 case detection, case and contact tracing, lab testing and data management. Part of the ‘Plus’ in PolioPlus.
The result is already evident in an uptick in cases of vaccine derived polio cases in Africa. Just as our country tussles with the cost of reopening, as regards economic recovery versus increasing cases of Covid-19, GPEI must balance the risk of missing a polio outbreak response versus acting and potentially spreading COVID-19.
As I’m sure most of you know, the Trump administration is on the warpath with the World Health Organization (WHO) for a variety of reason, but specifically with the organization and its relations with China. The main threat is to withhold the US contribution to WHO.
I didn’t know much about how WHO is financed, nor its budget, so I did a little research. I found some interesting facts for consideration.
WHO works on a two-year budget. Each country member of WHO is assessed a dollar amount due annually, based on population and the health of the economy. Below are some of the biannual contributions for 2019-2020.
Country | Assessment | Voluntary Amount | Total |
United States | 237,000,000 | 656,000,000 | 893,000,000 |
Gates Foundation |
| 531,000,000 | 531,000,000 |
Rotary International |
| 143,000,000 | 143,000,000 |
China | 76,000,000 | 50,000,000 | 126,000,000+ |
Aside from any politics, two interesting facts:
- Of all the worldwide ‘voluntary’ contributions, 90% are earmarked for polio eradication.
- The annual budget of WHO is less than many large US hospitals. (WHO annual budget is approximately $2.4 billion). Rush Medical Center 2019 annual report shows revenue of $2.6B. Gives it a little perspective.
Anyway, keep those dimes and dollars coming in for PolioPlus. Please contribute through your club or the RI website. The job is not done.