Iavoloha State Palace, Friday February 23, 2024. The delegation of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI, (from l’anglais Global Polio Eradication Initiative)) led by the WHO Resident Representative in Madagascar, accompanied by the UNICEF Resident Representative, paid a courtesy visit to the First Lady of the Republic of Madagascar, Mrs. Mialy R. Rajoelina.
The First Lady of the Republic of Madagascar being patron of the national vaccination campaign, the interview focused on the year of vaccination 2024 and the fight against poliomyelitis. At the end of this visit, representatives of UNICEF and WHO expressed their satisfaction with the renewed commitment of Mrs. Mialy R. Rajoelina to make this year 2024: “a year of vaccination”.
They also reaffirmed their support for this mission. “The First Lady, as godmother of vaccination, reassured us enormously of her personal commitment. And reiterated to us her desire to make this year 2024 a year of vaccination during which she will be able to send messages to encourage all mothers and fathers also to vaccinate their children and to make more efforts so that not only polio is eradicated but to May all children be protected from childhood illnesses”declared, very enthusiastically, Madame Christine Jaulmes, Resident Representative of UNICEF in Madagascar.
For his part, Dr Laurent Musango, WHO Resident Representative in Madagascar, recalled that: “It’s really interesting… This is not the first time that I have spoken with the First Lady who is the godmother of vaccination and who is making a lot of efforts to ensure that Malagasy children are vaccinated. We discussed collaboration in the fight against polio but also on other diseases so that 2024 is a year of vaccination so as not to leave anyone behind, so that all children are vaccinated and that we forget the epidemics of polio, measles, and many other diseases. She is really well committed and we appreciate a lot. On the partner side, we are also committed to giving our contribution and our technical and financial support.”
What is Polyomyelitis?
What is the Global Polio Eradication Initiative?
It is a public-private partnership whose objective is to eliminate this disease from the face of the planet.
After the eradication of smallpox in 1977, the World Health Organization (WHO), buoyed by its success, passed a resolution to eradicate polio and created e the GPEI in 1988, building on the work launched in 1985 by ROTARY INTERNATIONAL. At that time, polio was paralyzing more than 1,000 children every day across 125 countries. Since then, by vaccinating 3 billion children since its launch, the GPEI partnership has enabled a reduction of more than 99% in the number of cases observed worldwide.
Today, wild poliovirus is only endemic in two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan. With sufficient investments, the GPEI could enable the definitive interruption of the transmission of the virus by the end of 2023, allowing certification of its eradication at the end of 2026. The infrastructure and personnel mobilized for surveillance of the appearance of polio cases and vaccination campaigns also play a crucial role in other areas of public health, such as routine vaccinations or the immediate response to polio ™other health emergencies such as the Covid-19 pandemic.
Jeannot Ramambazafy
Main source: FITIA Association
