Rebecca Bell Balsillie School of International Affairs school.ca THE ROAD TO GLOBAL POLIO ERADICATION: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
POLIO & THE GLOBAL RESPONSE Acute viral disease that can damage the digestive tract and the nervous system Can lead to Acute Flaccid Paralysis Two vaccines: Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) Circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses Wild Poliovirus accine(IPV).aspx
Global Polio Eradication Initiative Public-private partnership including the WHO, Rotary International, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF. Endgame Strategic Plan for Transferable improvements for other health challenges MDG 4.A/SDG 3.2 Reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality…and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live births POLIO: A BACKGROUND
POLITICS POLITICS POLITICS
Removed from the polio- endemic list in September, 2015 Will require 3 years without WPV for official certification of polio eradication Boycott of OPV vaccinations in 2003 Immunization rate dropped below 20% Neutrality of the WHO in question Restrictions of Health Care Workers (HCWs) Traditional Medicine & Healers Boko Haram Misinformation & Mistrust Gendered restrictions NIGERIA spx#prettyPhoto
Conflict-related movement to and from Afghanistan 2450km Border allows for ease of cross-border transmission Religious & Cultural Values Mistrust, Social Unrest & Violence CIA Hepatitis B Campaign Remote locations PAKISTAN aspx#prettyPhoto
Insecurity, conflict & Political Unrest Misconceptions about vaccines Gendered Family Roles Mistrust of foreign medicine & health care workers Vaccine delivery, logistics Health care infrastructure Funding & Sustained Interest CHALLENGES s.aspx#prettyPhoto
Vaccine Hesitancy vs. Anti-Vaccine Optimized Vaccines Improved Health Care Infrastructure Increased Promotion of Vaccination Initiatives Cooperation between diverse actors Neutrality of Vaccination Campaigns Incentive Structures OPPORTUNITIES
Considering that international vaccination campaigns like the Global Polio Eradication Initiative require immense resources and capacity, their planning is done in a top-down manner. How could the GPEI and other large scale health campaigns encourage and involve grassroots level actors to help participate and be included in planning and praxis? How could gender mainstreaming help mitigate some of the gender-based issues regarding decision-making in the household and ease restrictions for Health Care Workers? FOOD FOR THOUGHT/QUESTIONS