Ending a Global Disease

Finishing the fight against polio

Photo credit: Rotary International

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See the latest on what we've learned about combatting the spread of infectious diseases.

Ending polio one community at a time

Community health workers have made a series of crucial contributions in ending polio, UNICEF Executive Director Tony Lake tells Devex Impact associate editor Adva Saldinger in this video interview.

What we learned from Nigeria's polio victory

Polio-free now for over a year, Nigeria holds the key to finally eradicating the disease from Africa once and for all. We learn the inside story of how this development milestone was accomplished, despite myriad challenges.

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Time for cautious optimism on a polio-free future

Polio eradication is within reach, but vaccination efforts must continue apace to stamp out the disease once and for all. Experts share tips on how lessons learned from the #EndPolio fight can guide future global health campaigns.

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Big lesson from polio eradication: Partnerships work

With an end to polio on the horizon, discussions now center on lessons learned from efforts to contain and eliminate the disease. Devex Impact associate editor Adva Saldinger talks to prominent #EndPolio advocates in this clip.

About

The global health community has made amazing strides in fighting polio in the 21st century. In fact, a polio-free world is within sight.

Ending a Global Disease is a conversation hosted by Devex, in partnership with Rotary International, exploring successes in the fight against polio and what it takes to eradicate a disease in today’s globalized world.

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Humanitarian diplomacy offers the olive branch needed in today's violent world

How do high-level efforts combine with local initiatives to have a sustainable humanitarian impact? In war zones and areas of humanitarian crisis, creative negotiations have facilitated crucial vaccination campaigns to reach vulnerable civilians, writes John Hewko, general secretary of Rotary International on World Polio Day.

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How to make a virus disappear

To turn polio from endangered to extinct, we need to stay focused, writes Jay Wenger, director of the polio program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in this exclusive guest commentary.

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Nigeria's polio-free gift to Africa

In the wake of Nigeria's removal from the polio endemic list, the country holds the ace to a polio-free Africa, writes Ado Muhammad, CEO of Nigeria's National Primary Health Care Development Agency, in this exclusive guest column.

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Ebola's footprint on health system strengthening'

How will one of the deadliest disease outbreaks of the past century factor into the Sustainable Development Goals? Devex spoke to Marc DuBois, former executive director of Médecins Sans Frontières, about how the Ebola crisis should shape the world’s approach to disaster risk reduction and health system strengthening.

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Humanitarian diplomacy offers the olive branch needed in today's violent world

From Rotary's fight to eradicate polio to any number of other global challenges, crowdfunding will be part of the equation, Devin Thorpe, author and Forbes contributor, tells Devex Impact associate editor Adva Saldinger in this video interview.

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Polio eradication legacy: Strong health systems

The eradication of polio has served as a model for many efforts to contain and eliminate other diseases, Mike McGovern, chair of Rotary International’s PolioPlus Committee, tells Devex Impact associate editor Adva Saldinger in this video interview.

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Polio on the brink of eradication

In the global fight against polio, cases are down by 99.9 percent and tremendous progress has been made. So how did we get this far? UNICEF's polio team leader Peter Crowley gives us the inside track in this exclusive guest commentary.

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Tackling the world’s deadliest childhood disease

There is an urgent need to reduce health inequity around the world to ensure that no child dies from pneumonia or other vaccine-preventable diseases, writes Anuradha Gupta, deputy CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, in this exclusive op-ed ahead of World Pneumonia Day.

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Join Us

Join us for events that explore what it takes to eradicate disease in today's world.

2015 World Polio Day

On October 23rd, Rotary hosted a global status update on the fight to end polio for their third annual World Polio Day event. Guests included Global Polio Eradication Initiative partners, celebrity ambassadors, polio survivors, and others. Check out the video above to see some the evening's highlights.

Twitter Chat

Devex and Rotary International hosted a Twitter Chat on what it takes to end a global disease with global health experts and activists on November 17. We discussed the successes in the fight against polio and how they can be applied to eradicate other diseases in today’s globalized world.