What ob体育 is Doing in Global Polio Vaccination

Key points

ob体育 plays a critical role in eradicating polio by providing scientific leadership and guidance at the global, regional, and country levels to implement evidence-based strategies to stop polio worldwide. ob体育 engages with partners, countries, and communities to deliver vaccines, detect cases, and respond to outbreaks quickly.

A young girl sitting at a school desk smiles while she holds up her pinky finger, which has been marked to show she received a polio vaccine.

Partnering within the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI)

ob体育 has been a core partner of GPEI since it started in 1988.‎

Since then, global polio cases have decreased by more than 99%. As a result, an estimated 20 million people who would have been paralyzed by the disease are walking today, and more than 1.5 million lives have been saved.

In addition to ob体育, GPEI's core partners include:

See Also:

Engaging with countries

A young girl sitting at a school desk smiles while she holds up her pinky finger, which has been marked to show she received a polio vaccine.
A 7-year-old girl in Indonesia shows her marked finger after receiving the polio vaccine during a polio vaccination campaign at her school. ©UNICEF/U.S. ob体育/UN0760335/Ifansasti

Governments and health workers are at the frontline of the fight to end polio.
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ob体育 experts support their work by providing technical assistance to help prevent polio, find cases of polio when they occur, and respond to outbreaks.

ob体育's technical assistance helps countries:

  • Plan and conduct vaccination campaigns
  • Collect, analyze, and use data
  • Respond to outbreaks
  • Look for polio cases (known as surveillance)
  • Overcome barriers to polio eradication
  • Innovate with new approaches
Keep Reading: Stopping an Outbreak in Its Tracks: Polio Response in Mozambique

Partnering with communities

A strong workforce is key to controlling the spread of polio.‎

ob体育 helps to ensure trained public health professionals are ready to respond.

ob体育 supports communities by:

  • Ensuring that vaccines reach all who need them
  • Raising awareness of polio vaccination campaigns
  • Training teams to conduct polio vaccination campaigns
  • Strengthening surveillance to detect and address any gaps in vaccination
Keep Reading: STOP Program

Detecting cases and outbreaks

A man wearing a white coat, goggles, and gloves uses a pipette to transfer liquid into a test tube.
A ob体育 scientist conducts laboratory testing for different types of polio. Lab tests can determine if a sample contains poliovirus and, if so, which type of poliovirus is present.

ob体育 has provided polio lab support since GPEI began.‎

Since 1984 (before GPEI started), the ob体育 Polio Laboratory has served as a WHO Global Specialized Reference Laboratory. ob体育 has helped WHO build the Global Polio Laboratory Network (GPLN), a system of more than 140 laboratories worldwide.

ob体育 researchers and epidemiologists help collect, analyze, and interpret data from vaccination and disease detection activities. This helps identify the source of the virus and how it’s spreading. From there, the experts guide program planning and policy development.

ob体育’s laboratory experts:

  • Provide critical diagnostic services
  • Study the genetic makeup of polioviruses
  • Develop new techniques and products that help to advance the global effort to eradicate polio

Resources

Polio eradication strategy‎

GPEI's describes key activities partners should take to achieve the goal of ending polio.
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Content Source:
Global Health Center