Science and Technology
In news: Global leaders committed to donating $2.54 billion (or Rs 19 crore) for eradicating polio at the World Health Summit.
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation pledged $1.2 billion to the largest international public health initiative, Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).
About:
- Wild poliovirus is endemic in just two countries — Pakistan and Afghanistan.
- However, there has been new detections of polio this year in previously polio-free countries like the United States, Israel and the United Kingdom and southeast Africa.
- The funding will support vaccinating 370 million children annually over the next five years and continue disease surveillance across 50 countries.
- It also includes roll-out of the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) to stop outbreaks of type 2 circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV) more sustainably.
- Additionally, outbreaks of cVDPV, variants of the poliovirus can emerge in places where not enough people have been immunized.
Significance:
- If fully funded, the strategy can save up to $33.1 billion in health cost savings this century compared to the price of controlling outbreaks.
- It would also be able to deliver additional health services and immunizations alongside polio vaccines to underserved communities.
About World Health Summit:
- World Health Summit is an international health conference held annually in Berlin, Germany.
- It was founded in 2009 and is traditionally held under the patronage of the German Chancellor, the French President, the President of the European Commission, and the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO).
- Aim: to bring together stakeholders from politics, science, the private sector, and civil society from around the world to set the agenda for a healthier future by inspiring innovative solutions for better health and well-being for all.
About Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI):
- It is a public-private partnership led by national governments with six partners
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- Rotary International
- the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- Gavi, the vaccine alliance.
- Its goal is to eradicate polio worldwide.
MUST READ: Polio disease
Source: Down to Earth
Previous Year Question
Q.1) Consider the following diseases (2014)
- Diphtheria
- Chickenpox
- Smallpox
Which of the above diseases has/have been eradicated in India?
- 1 and 2 only
- 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
- None
