Geneva: The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) announced on Thursday that additional funding is needed, and the target to officially eliminate all forms of polio has been extended. The revised goals are now set for 2027 to eradicate the wild virus and 2029 for the vaccine-derived variant, pushing back the original 2026 deadline for both forms.
The global campaign to wipe out polio, a disease that causes paralysis, has been underway for decades. While mass vaccination efforts have made significant progress since 1988, complete eradication has remained elusive. The initial deadline was missed in 2000.
“It’s always as you get to the end… that you say ‘Well, this is so hard,'” said Chris Elias, chair of the Polio Oversight Board at GPEI and head of global development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Elias highlighted that despite the challenges, the tools and determination to finish the job remain strong.
In an interview with Reuters, Elias mentioned that while the initiative hopes to stop the transmission of the wild form of polio by next year, it would need to wait for two years with no new cases to declare the disease eradicated. Currently, wild polio remains endemic in Pakistan and Afghanistan, with 54 reported cases this year. However, the vaccine-derived strain is more widespread, with 179 cases in 2023, posing a significant challenge in harder-to-reach regions.
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The vaccine-derived strain occurs when children are immunized with a vaccine containing a weakened form of the live virus. Although the children are protected, the weakened virus can spread through unvaccinated populations and mutate, creating new outbreaks.
The GPEI’s oversight board has revised its financial requirements to $6.9 billion, up from $4.8 billion, to fund the eradication efforts. Although donors have committed $4.5 billion, an additional $2.4 billion is needed to implement “urgent and vital tactical shifts” in the global fight against polio. These strategies include enhancing local leadership and combating misinformation in areas where routine immunization remains a challenge.
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Elias remained optimistic about achieving the eradication goal, stating, “We have succeeded in interrupting polio virus transmission everywhere. We just haven’t succeeded everywhere at the same time … so it’s a little bit like whack-a-mole.”
