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Where are we in the fight to end polio? What have we accomplished? How can we make history together? Click for link to find out more

Rotary, Gates Foundation partner to boost polio endgame support

A bold new chapter in the partnership between Rotary and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation aimed at eradicating polio was announced at the Rotary International Convention in Lisbon, Portugal, late last month. The joint effort, called End Polio Now  Make History Today, will support the 2013-18 Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan.

The Gates Foundation will match two-to-one, up to US$35 million per year, every dollar Rotary commits to reduce the funding shortfall for polio eradication through 2018, said Jeff Raikes, the foundation's chief executive officer, in a prerecorded video address shown during the plenary session on 25 June. If fully realized, the value of this new partnership with Rotary is more than $500 million. In this way, your contributions to polio will work twice as hard.

  Learn about the progress being made by Rotary and our partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
  Get the latest news from Rotary on the fight to finish polio.
  Follow stories about polio eradication on Rotarys blog.

Click for link to Scientific news 11th of April 2013 on Polio Eradication

A special media feature on the GPEI site this week is on the campaign launched in Chad. The mobility of nomadic populations there leads to difficulties in reaching them with health services. Estimated at 350,000 people across the country, the nomadic populations are not systematically reached either by polio SIAs or by routine immunisation services and children are disproportionately affected by this crippling disease.  The country-wide polio immunisation campaign, coupled with Vitamin A supplementation and de-worming tablets has a special focus on nomadic populations. The campaign has targeted about 3.9 million children under the age of five across the country, and more than 9,600 additional community workers have been mobilised to ensure that the targeted children are reached. Vitamin A supplementation and de-worming tablets are two high-impact interventions improving the nutritional status and health of children, and the polio vaccination programme is providing an avenue for these services to be provided to previously unreachable communities.

NB: Chad recorded only five cases of polio in 2012 compared to the 132 cases in 2011, and its most recent case of wild poliovirus occurred more than nine months ago. Chad also remains affected by a cVDPV2 outbreak, with 13 cases reported since August 2012.

Click for link to immunization campaign with a special focus.

There have also been numerous international press comments predicting that Peshawar is a threat to the polio eradication programme in Pakistan and the alleged rapid deterioration in the state of polio eradication in the province.

These comments apart, the country reports this week have no new cases of WPV or cVDPV so the status update merely adjusts for the additional cases that were reported in the same week in 2012. In summary:

16 WPV1 cases compared to 40 at the same time in 2012 or 40% of the number last year. 

No WPV3 cases vs. 7 in 2012.

The countries with polio cases at this time in 2012 were:

Nigeria 17 vs. 10 reported this year.

Pakistan 15 vs. 5 this year.

Afghanistan 5 vs. one this year.

Chad 3 vs. none reported this year.

The cVDPV chart remains unchanged.