Polio Eradication: A Photo Documentary

This documentary illustrates the challenges of reaching every child with oral polio vaccine and establishing a system of surveillance to demonstrate results. To date, more than $5 billion has been invested in polio eradication from a combination of external and host-country resources. Human suffering has been greatly reduced, and tremendous acts of bravery and courage abound. The legacy of a partnership that transcends geopolitics, economics, class, race, and religion, demonstrating equity for all, will be a polio-free world. It is a remarkable human achievement and a gift to the world’s children.

The photographs were taken between 1997 and 2001 by Ellyn W. Ogden, MPH, the Worldwide Polio Eradication Coordinator for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), while observing national immunization days and other polio activities on behalf of USAID’s Polio Eradication Initiative. They are intended to illustrate the complexity and difficulty of polio eradication; to capture the esprit de corps of the people and organizations dedicated to this task; to share lessons learned from the program thus far; and, most importantly, to spotlight the children most affected by polio and in need of immunizations to protect them against polio and all vaccine-preventable diseases.

	Introduction: Within Our Grasp: Polio Eradication		Child to Child: Efforts to Reach Children in Geographically Remote Areas
	Immunization Days: More Rounds may be Necessary		Making Programs Work: Build and Strengthen Program Management
	Surveillance: Proving Worldwide Eradication of the Poliovirus		Countries in Conflict: War-torn Areas Pose Extraordinary Challenges
	Unprecedented Partnerships: On the Agenda Across the Globe		Future Challenges: Political and Financial Commitment Must Remain High
	Acknowledgements