‘Global polio eradication programme not on track'

“It is now or never” for the global polio eradication programme, the Independent Monitoring Board that periodically evaluates the worldwide effort has warned. Unless an emergency response produced quick results, the programme could “fail monumentally.” Notwithstanding the success in India, the current stalemate in polio eradication, with over $ 1 billion being spent annually to hold polio cases at low levels, was unsustainable, the Board pointed out in its latest report. In April last, the Board called the need to interrupt polio transmission by the end of 2012 a “global health emergency.” Last month, the World Health Organisation's Executive Board took declared polio eradication a “programmatic emergency for global public health.” The World Health Assembly, WHO's apex governing body, will consider a similar resolution when it meets in May. The Board went out of its way to emphasise the importance of the “humble vaccinator.” Too many of these workers “are underrated, rarely thanked, frequently criticised, often under-paid, poorly motivated and weakly skilled.” It was the eradication programme's responsibility to value, train and inspire this immensely important group of people, arguably the most important in the programme.