The dream of eradicating polio is almost realized

Jehanzeb Khan, disabled by polio as a young child, urges the audience to support efforts to eradicate the disease. He has worked with his Boy Scout troop to promote immunization in Pakistan.

8 May 2002, NEW YORK - "Say No to Polio," called Jehanzeb Khan, 16, from Pakistan. "Say No!"

"No!" shouted back the audience, led by UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Roger Moore, aka James Bond.

Mr. Moore had joined a group of child advocates and health experts at a meeting on polio eradication hosted by UNICEF.

Jehanzeb beamed. He has, finally, good reason to smile. Since 1988, the campaign to eradicate polio has saved millions of children from death or life-long disability. Jehanzeb knows such suffering first hand. Disabled by polio as a young child, he is now one of thousands of Boy Scouts in Pakistan helping to eradicate the disease in their country.

Those at the meeting, a supporting event to the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children, discussed the recent great gains made against polio as well as the daunting challenges remaining before polio is eradicated worldwide.

Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of the World Health Organization, applauded the precipitous drop in cases from 350,000 per year in 1988 to just over 500 in 2001. She noted that much of this success was due to the strong contribution of volunteers to polio eradication efforts. "Ten million volunteers reached 575 million children during national immunization days last year," she said.

Mr. David Fleming, Acting Director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stated that because of the campaign, "One million deaths have been prevented by polio immunization since 1990." He also noted that 5 million people are not paralyzed today because of eradication efforts.

The Chairman of the Rotary Foundation, Mr. Luis Vicente Giay, described how in 1985 members of Rotary International adopted the dream of immunizing every child against polio. Since then, Rotarians have raised hundreds of millions of dollars to help realize that dream and have volunteered to help in immunization drives.

Despite these extraordinary achievements, the last mile is going to be uphill, cautioned UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy. The first difficulty will be vaccinating the millions of unimmunized children who are hard to reach because of war, poverty or geography. The second difficulty will be to secure the needed resources. "We still have a long way to go," she said.

An estimated US$1 billion in aid is needed in the years 2002-2005 to eradicate polio. National governments have pledged some US$725 million, leaving a funding gap of US$275 million.

Mr. Tommy G. Thompson, United States Secretary for Health and Human Services, pledged the continuing support of the US Government. He said he eagerly awaits the time when polio will be eradicated. "Then," he said, "we will pick up the cudgel and take on the next disease, and eradicate that as well."

Each of the speakers signed a pledge to support efforts to tackle the last mile.

Then it was the turn of Jehanzeb and 16-year-old Temidayo Israel-Abdulai from Nigeria to sign the pledge. Jehanzeb will continue his work with the Baluchistan Boy Scouts Association. Temidayo runs his own non-governmental organization, the Campaign for the Nigerian Child.

After the pledging, Jehanzeb took the microphone again and shouted, "Say No! To Polio!"

Everyone shouted back. "No!"

Share in Jehanzeb's experiences at the Children's Forum and the Special Session in his daily diary.