PROPOSAL TO ERADICATE POLIOPrepared for you by:Tara MoayedInternational Programs Officer UNICEF Canada

Date: June 2013

© UNICEF/AFGA2011-00015/Jalali

In 1988, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) was formed and spearheaded by national governments, WHO, Rotary International, the CDC, UNICEF and supported by key partners including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Since then polio cases have decreased by over 99%, reducing cases from an estimated 350,000 in more than 125 countries to less than 250 cases in 2012. Now, in 2013, three countries remain endemic: Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.

Be a part of history

THE LAST CHILD IS WITHIN OUR REACH

A mark on the pinky tells vaccinators this girl has been reached.

END POLIO

Highly contagious, polio spreads easily where there is poverty, lack of sanitation and lack of basic healthcare. It paralyses many of its young victims sometimes ending with death. Now cornered, polio remains in only three countries: Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. For the second time in human history, we stand on the brink of eradicating one of the most dreaded diseases.

What is polio?Polio is a naturally occurring virus. Like all viruses, it needs a human host. Wherever children are vaccinated against it, polio cannot survive. If the virus cannot find an unvaccinated person to infect, it will die out and polio will be no more.

We are close to that day when no parent will discover polio has paralyzed their child. We are close to that day when no remote village or overcrowded city slum will witness polio cripple many of its children. We are close to that day when crutches are no longer a salve for the fear and superstition that prevent vaccination.

We need youThere’s no cure for polio. Once a child has the virus nothing can be done. But it can be easily prevented. It takes just two drops: one to vaccinate, the other to make sure. UNICEF has and will continue to go to the ends of the earth to eradicate this disease—we want you with us.

Why act now?Although we have reduced polio cases by 99.9%, in order to eradicate the disease, we need to vaccinate 250 million children over the next 5 years.

A single child who remains infected puts all children at risk. If we don’t end polio now, 200,000 new infections annually could be reported 10 years from now and polio could paralyze 10 million children over a 40-year span.

Project background

PROPOSAL TO ERADICATE POLIOPrepared for you by:Tara MoayedInternational Programs Officer UNICEF Canada

Date: June 2013

2DROPS

ISALL IT TAKES

The virus remains endemic—meaning regularly found—in only three countries: Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. So what stands in our way of eradication? You might be surprised to learn how challenging the road to end polio is:

Geography. Some children live in the remotest areas of the world. UNICEF reaches them by any means necessary—boat, plane, bicycle or on foot.

Cold chain. Vaccines must be kept at temperatures below 8°C. Vaccinators must plan stops for refrigeration no matter how far the journey, how hot the climate, or how rare access to electricity is.

Awareness. Low awareness of disease combined with fear and superstition of vaccinations are two of the biggest barriers keeping us from reaching every child. Only education solves this problem.

Gender. At homes where no man is present, male health workers are often turned away. Female workers who can speak mother-to-mother must be trained to ensure no child goes unvaccinated.

Migration. Whether it’s for economic reasons or because of conflict, some families must flee their homes. Migration means following the trail of these easy-to-miss children.

© UNICEF/NYHQ2012-1305/Zaidi

No child too far

Nigeria

Afghanistan

Pakistan

This is a special chance to make history and eradicate polio. The campaign to end polio is the single largest undertaking in the world and the only time, other than the eradication of small pox, when the whole world unites to fight a common cause. Polio is at a tipping point and we have a short window of opportunity to act. Is this really polio’s last stand? Only you can decide.

It can be doneStrategies for polio eradication only work when they are fully implemented. This is clearly demonstrated in India, which was successful in stopping polio only two years ago, and in one of the most difficult regions to access every last child. Global eradication can and will happen but not without your help today.

You’ve shown extraordinary commitmentYou were specially selected for this project because of your high-level commitment to UNICEF and because of your deep understanding of humanitarian work. Join us in delivering a major global public good that will benefit all people equally.

Stand with those who want to make a differenceStand with the 20 million volunteers worldwide who have been working for 20 years to vaccinate more than 2.5 billion children. Your donation will help us reach the most difficult-to-reach children. As part of the UN, we are already on the ground operating in more countries and saving more children’s lives than any other humanitarian organization.

Join us in making historyThe time to eradicate polio is now. Failure to commit to this strategy leads to ongoing cases of polio and the potential for it to spread. Your mission today is to strike the final blow against polio. It’s an epidemiological opportunity that may never come again.

Proposal for your support

THE END OF POLIO

ONLY 3 COUNTRIES REMAIN ENDEMICACT NOW TO ERADICATE POLIO FOREVER

99.9% ERADICATEDWe need to reach 250 million children for 100% eradication.

2012 : <250 CASES2011 : 650 cases2009 : 1604 cases1988 : 350,000 cases

INDIA IS POLIO FREEIndia has now passed two years without a single case of polio.

3 COUNTRIES REMAINOnly 3 countries remain polio-endemic: Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan.

How fast can polio spread?As long as a single child remains infected, all children remain at risk.

Polio requires a human host to survive—usually children

The 223 cases we see today can turn into as many as 200,000 new cases every year within 10 years if we don’t win this fight

10 million children under five could be paralyzed in 40 years

© U

NIC

EF/

IND

A20

12-0

0429

/Bis

was

THE TIME TO ERADICATE POLIO IS NOW

Tara MoayedInternational Programs Officer

UNICEF Canada

Telephone +1 416 482 6552 Ext. 8860tmoayed@unicef.ca

unicef.ca

No child too far

Tara MoayedTara MoayedTInternational Programs Officer

UNICEF Canada

Telephone +1 416 482 6552 Ext. 8860Telephone +1 416 482 6552 Ext. 8860Ttmoayed@unicef.ca

unicef.ca

No child too far

YOU CAN COUNT ON UNICEF

UNICEF is uniquely positioned to win the fight against polio. From procuring and distributing more than $2 billion worth of oral polio vaccines, to stopping wars and negotiating truces to get to unvaccinated children, UNICEF has been in the fight against polio since the very beginning.

Before – Polio was one of the most feared childhood diseases in the West, paralyzing thousands of children every year.

1950s and 1960s – Vaccines are introduced and polio is practically eliminated as a public health problem in western countries.

1970-1980 – Surveys demonstrate that polio is widespread in many developing countries. Routine immunization is introduced.

1985 – The Universal Childhood Immunization Initiative is launched jointly by UNICEF and WHO to reduce child mortality.

1988 – Worldwide, polio continues to affect some 350,000 people in 125 countries. In response, UNICEF helps launch the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

1995 – UNICEF helps vaccinate more than 143 million children in Europe and India.

1996 – Nelson Mandela officially launches the Kick Polio Out of Africa campaign. UNICEF and partners vaccinate 420 million children.

1999 – The UN Secretary-General negotiate truces for immunization in the Democratic Republic of Congo. UNICEF helps vaccinate 10 million children.

2000 – A record 550 million children – almost one-tenth of the world’s population – receive the oral polio vaccine through UNICEF and others.

2002 – Europe is certified polio-free.

2004 – Across Africa, and with the support of UNICEF, 23 countries target 80 million children for vaccination.

2007 – On International Peace Day, UNICEF and partners reach 80,000 previously inaccessible children in southern Afghanistan.

2013 – UNICEF Canada turns to its most important donors to help finish the job and reach the remaining unvaccinated children in the world.

© U

NIC

EF/

NY

HQ

2011

-251

0/A

ssel

in

unicef.ca/endpolio