whereas COVID-19 nonetheless spreads internationally, the should sustain the fight in direction of polio and completely different vaccine-preventable illnesses goes on. hundreds of entrance-line polio workers proceed to fight polio whereas on the identical time supporting the COVID-19 response — all whereas having to adapt to more and more troublesome working environments amid lockdowns, constrained sources, and stringent an infection administration measures.
worldwide networks to cease well being threats
the worldwide Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) has constructed an intensive community world vast to convey the polio vaccine to every baby throughout the globe, particularly these hardest to obtain. This community reaches deep into distant corners of nations with fragile well being methods and supplies distinctive entry to amongst the assorted world’s most marginalized and weak populations.
The polio program is not any stranger to well being emergencies. collectively with its in depth expertise in detecting and responding to polio outbreaks, it has an prolonged historic previous of responding to outbreaks of completely different vaccine-preventable illnesses akin to measles, diphtheria, and yellow fever — as effectively as to rising worldwide well being threats. In 2014, Nigeria’s polio emergency operations center led the efforts to comprise an outbreak of Ebola, stopping what could have develop proper into a a lot greater worldwide disaster. In 2015, polio workers assisted emergency aid efforts after a devastating earthquake in Nepal.
Stepping as a lot as reply to the COVID-19 disaster
final 12 months, when the pandemic hit, the polio program as quickly as as quickly as extra stepped as a lot as lend its worthwhile sources to the COVID-19 response.
in lots of places, polio packages are typically communities’ solely contact factors with well being care. as a consequence of the World well being group (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, at present mentioned, “In Africa, nobody has the footprint of the polio program nor the expertise for mounting efficient response campaigns. So with COVID-19 threatening to overwhelm well being methods, the in depth polio response community is as quickly as as quickly as extra lending essential assist as international places construct up methods to comprise COVID-19.”
The polio program’s expert human sources, in depth surveillance and laboratory networks, and emergency operations facilities immediately tailored to the COVID-19 context and shifted to current essential assist to the spreading pandemic in lots of places world vast.
The polio community may be offering invaluable assist to the COVID-19 response by way of its sturdy social mobilization community, which has fostered trusted relationships with well being officers and neighborhood leaders over a quantity of many years.
A at present revealed WHO report highlights simply how very important polio infrastructure has been to bolstering the COVID-19 response inside the African, Southeast Asia, and jap Mediterranean areas. Polio workers have provided essential COVID-19 assist to weak populations, collectively with nomadic populations in Kenya and Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, enabling what would have doubtlessly been catastrophic COVID-19 outbreaks to be effectively managed and managed.
Sustaining the polio community for rising well being threats
as a consequence of the world approaches worldwide polio eradication and polio funding steadily decreases, the community and infrastructure that the polio program has created over the previous three many years — which serve a lot broader well being packages than polio alone and defend worldwide well being safety — are in hazard.
extra importantly, the fight to finish polio is simply not over. If now we should make polio solely the second illness behind smallpox to be eradicated in human historic previous, we should proceed to shore up polio packages and investments.
The renewed consideration that COVID-19 has given to well being methods and vaccination as an complete supplies a singular alternative for all worldwide actors to return collectively and take steps to make sure that that the investments made for COVID-19 combine the polio program infrastructure into broader nationwide well being methods. this may even be optimistic that these belongings stay obtainable to finish the job on polio and likewise reply to future well being emergencies.
Featured picture: Asad Zaidi/ UNICEF