ABC Radio – Monday marks World Polio Day, a day set aside to remember the disease that threatens children with paralysis, sometimes even death.
Twenty years ago, polio killed or paralysed 350,000 children each year worldwide.
Since then, lifesaving vaccines have dramatically reduced the spread of polio with 99 percent of the world free from the disease. But a recent outbreak in China, as well as persistent challenges in Africa and Pakistan, show that polio is still a serious threat.
LAM: And where political leadership is concerned, the world’s leaders are meeting in Perth this week, in Western Australia, for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, CHOGM. What action would you like to see Commonwealth countries take on this polio issue?
EVANS: I think it would be very important for them to give it a profile, give it visibility, to talk about it, to make a financial commitment. This is expensive work, this last one per cent getting out to those report areas doesn’t come cheaply, so I think for CHOGM and for those CHOGM members that can contribute, I think that’s incredibly important, but I think also to give a very strong, solid message that politically as leaders who can influence, they see it as a high priority. I think that’s incredibly important.
Read the full article on the ABC Radio Website.
