Global Polio Eradication Initiative: Challenges and Opportunities

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Global Polio Eradication InitiativeChallenges
and Opportunities
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Polio Eradication on the African Continent
Summary points

• Polio continues to spread in West and Central
  Africa where vaccination coverage is
  insufficient, and continues to circulate in Egypt
  despite increasing numbers of campaigns causing
  risks to polio eradication
• National immunization days are not achieving the
  quality necessary to protect sufficient numbers
  of children to stop polio transmission
  
• Surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis not
  detecting all cases
  
• Additional risks to completing polio eradication
  during 2005
  
• Failing to contain the spread of polio virus from
  its reservoir in Nigeria/Niger
  
• Failing to re-start immunization activities in
  Côte d'Ivoire
  
• Perception of insufficient government commitment
  or failure to progress by donors, leading to
  decreased resources

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African Union Heads of State SummitAbuja, 30-31
January 2005

• Convened by President Obasanjo
• Two hour agenda item on health AIDS,TB,
  malaria and polio
  
• Polio partners proposing communiqué on polio
  
  
• Opportunity to increase commitment and funding of
  G8, OIC, OECD and national governments
  

October launch, synchronized National immunizatio
n days,
West and Central Africa
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Increasing Country-level commitment and
effectiveness

• Public health system alone is insufficient to
  provide logistics and staffing necessary for
  reaching every child with polio vaccine
  
• Commitment from health and other necessary
  government sectors can be increased
  
• Country-level advocacy meetings bringing all
  national partners together with minister or other
  high level officials
  
• Regularly informing head of state and ministry of
  foreign affairs on polio situation through
  monthly reports in cabinet

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Independent monitoring of vaccination campaigns
and surveillance activities

• Polio virus will not disappear as rapidly as
  vaccination coverage increases
  
• Surrogate information that will demonstrate
  effective eradication activities
  
• Surveillance for acute flaccid paralysis that
  meets international standards including
  timeliness of laboratory analysis and reporting
  
• Independent monitoring data that demonstrate
  actual numbers of children vaccinated/missed in
  addition to vaccine tally sheets
  
• National commitment as demonstrated by government
  officials launching campaigns, and by television
  spots and media coverage
  

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Example NID Monitoring Data children und un-immunized
Oct 2004
Nov 2004
NOTE 41,000 children checked
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Local Resource Mobilization

• Increasing funds required in 2004 and 2005
  because of spread of polio virus to countries
  with low polio vaccination coverage
  
• Local resource mobilization for polio compliments
  funding from WHO and UNICEF in many African
  countries where
  
• Government commitment is demonstrated by national
  budget allocations for polio have facilitated
  bilateral fund-raising
  
• UN Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) is
  applicable for emergency polio funding in 2005
  Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire are
  eligible
• UNICEF, Rotary and WHO can provide support
  through ICC and other national mechanisms

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THE CHALLENGE FOR 2004

• Increase the quality of vaccination campaigns
  and strengthen surveillance for acute flaccid
  paralysis, interrupting transmission of wild
  polio virus while maintaining donor confidence
  and the necessary resource-base.

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Opportunities in polio eradication 2005

• African Union heads of state meeting and
  communiqué to further commit national
  governments, G8, OIC, OECD, others
  
• Increasing country level commitment and
  effectiveness through advocacy meetings and
  regular head of state briefing
  
• Independent monitoring of vaccination campaigns
  and surveillance to increase effectiveness and
  donor confidence
  
• Local resource mobilization to maximize funding
  for polio eradication activities

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African Ministers of Health Meeting on Polio
Eradication, 13 January 2005

• We, the Ministers of Health of the 8 most
  severely polio-affected countries of Africa,
  supported by the polio partners, resolve to
  further intensify eradication activities, with
  the goal of stopping polio in 2005 by
• conducting at least 5 rounds of synchronized
  polio campaigns,
  
• mobilizing the full resources of government
  local communities to ensure there are sufficient
  people transport to reach every child in each
  campaign.
• restarting sustaining polio campaigns in all
  polio-infected high risk areas.
  
• personally monitoring the quality of each
  campaign and of surveillance.