Episode #146 – Polio: almost gone, not finished

VGS We've reduced the cases of white polio virus by 99.9% since 1988. This means that in 2025, we were down to less than 50 cases in just two countries. Polio is a debilitating disease that does not respect borders. In fact, in countries of Africa and Europe, we've seen importations in recent years. As long as the virus exists anywhere in the world, children are under threat everywhere.

The world had committed to ending polio but will we? Here to talk about it is Doctor Jamal Ahmed. More than 20 million people would have been paralyzed today if it had not been for the efforts to deliver vaccines and vaccinate people against polio. Doctor Jamal, since people don't see polio around them in most countries, it almost seems very difficult to imagine what the world was like before the Global Initiative to End Polio. Can you take us back?

JA Thank you very much Vismita. I think you're absolutely right. Before the vaccines, before we did get vaccines, the world was rife with polio, and we were seeing large scale outbreaks across many cities in Europe, in North America, and in many parts of the world. Now people don't see polio. It feels like a distant memory. But for many older people and older generations, it is not a distant memory. They have seen the lines in pediatric hospitals, the banks of those lung machines that used to help the afflicted breath, the many deaths. And the vaccines have changed the world. Absolutely. But, polio is not gone completely. It's still with us. It's still there in a few countries.

VGS So how did the global polio eradication effort change this?

JA From the beginning the polio eradication effort has always been a citizen driven effort. And the leadership of Rotary initiated what we call now the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. And in 1988, the world agreed, here in Geneva at the World Health Assembly, to end polio for good. At that time, we had more than 350 000 cases. That is about a thousand cases every single day.

The world then committed to end polio for good by the year 2000. They had done that, almost all countries effectively over 125 endemic countries. Then, by the end of the century, we had a handful of key countries remaining. It has been a long slog since then to finish the epidemic in those countries and the transmission in those countries. A number of them did that, but we are left with two. And until we have finished, we will not be done.

VGS So explain to us, Doctor Jamal, if it's less than 50 cases in just two countries, why is it so difficult to end polio at this point? And why should the world continue to invest in ending polio?

JA There is a reason why we have polio in the last two endemic countries. It's geopolitical. It's insecurity, it's access challenges. It's many, many different challenges coming together in a very tiny place along the endemic, the borders of the two endemic countries. That's Afghanistan and Pakistan. The reason why we need to finish is first we it's doable. Not many diseases can be eradicated. Polio is one of those diseases that can be truly eradicated. Second, and most importantly is if we don't, it [polio] will be more than back, it will come back. All the efforts that we have achieved over many decades of hard work will be down the drain. We don't want that. We already see occasional exportations from those endemic areas.

A few years ago we had two wild polio outbreaks in southern Africa. We just had detection in Germany. The world is not free of polio until we are all free of polio. Remember that eradication is all or nothing. We either are done with it, or it comes back, in full force.

VGS So how can we get involved and help end polio?

JA We can do so many things. First, you sitting at home, make sure your children, the children of your neighbors, are all vaccinated. Two, urge your community, your local leadership, your government, to prioritize the protection of children, including vaccination. Three, advocate for vaccination, advocate for polio in the polio eradication program whenever you can in your local community so that we are all done together. If you see Rotary somewhere, please join. Please participate in the efforts because Rotarians have been at the forefront of this work, and we need the support of all members of the community when it comes to the eradication effort.

VGS Thank you, Doctor Jamal. There you have it. If you found this video useful, please share it with your community and find out where your nearest rotary is, get involved, make sure your children are vaccinated against polio, and find a way to advocate with your government to end polio. Until next time then, stay safe, stay healthy, and stick with science.