Last year there were only 22 reported cases—but until the disease is completely wiped out, there's a chance of a tragic resurgence
INNOVATION
It took enormous innovation to find the hardest to reach: the children of migrants and others in remote villages. Micro planning, data-driven analytics and satellite mapping were used to ensure that every household received the vaccine. Mobile teams of vaccinators located camps of migrant families. Children were vaccinated at railway stations, inside trains, at bus stops and market places.
As concerns about low immunization coverage persisted, India called for extra rounds of national immunization days. The number of polio cases dropped from 150,000 in 1985, to 741 in 2009, to just one case reported in 2011. That case immediately prompted three mop-up rounds of vaccination and house-to-house visits that identified every vulnerable child in the area. The seven-week campaign stopped transmission of the virus, and no cases have been reported in India since.
FINAL PUSH
Today, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the two countries still experiencing cases of polio, as well as Nigeria, who has passed the one-year mark of no cases reported, are pressing toward zero cases using many of the same tactics that were successful in India. In Pakistan, the government and GPEI partners have more than 200,000 front-line vaccinators and set up 600 transit posts to immunize children in high-risk areas. In Afghanistan, religious leaders—dubbed “Mobile Mullahs”—visit families to talk about Islam’s support of the vaccine.
Of course, no two situations are alike, and each country has its unique circumstances. Further, a recent study about the impact of insecurity on polio eradication efforts indicate some children are missed in areas of high conflict and danger. So, this final push for total global eradication will not be easy. There may still be setbacks. But India proved the virus could be eliminated under the most complex of circumstances. Its success can be replicated, applying the same approach of partnership, open communication and innovation.