Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) – Independent Monitoring Board: Letter to WHO Director-General
26 February 2014
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Excerpts [Editor’s bolded text]
“…The current situation in Pakistan is a powder key that could ignite widespread polio transmission. The number of cases in this country is going in the wrong direction…the adequacy of the government’s plans will be in full public view at our May meeting and at the subsequent World Health Assembly…”

“..At our suggestion, the program has identified a Red List of the countries most vulnerable to a polio outbreak. In the IMB’s view, when a country is placed on the Red List, all possible means must be used to get it out of this precarious situation as swiftly as possible. As the ongoing outbreak in the Horn of Africa demonstrates, the program softens its focus on such countries at its peril…We are deeply worried about the present situation in the Ukraine, which was very vulnerable even before the recent civil conflict, and recommend that the country be included in the program’s Red List.

“Since our October meeting, a new outbreak has emerged in Syria. The program has done a commendable job of responding to this outbreak, within the constraints of a major conflict. Protecting children from this scourge should be part of a core humanitarian response. We suggest that when humanitarian emergencies occur in countries where the reintroduction (or export) of poliovirus is possible, the GPEI seek to work with the United Nations – OCHA – as a key partner, and that OCHA be asked to include polio vaccination as a priority of the health clusters under the Humanitarian Reform system…”