POLIOMYELITIS
By: Ben Straitman
Poliomyelitis, one of the most infectious diseases on the planet, is extremely dangerous. With symptoms ranging from fever, fatigue, and headache to permanent paralysis, it’s not an easy affliction to deal with, as even Franklin Delano Roosevelt struggled with this disease. This disease needs to be stopped before it infects more victims and claims their lives. The way to accomplish this is through vaccination. It has no cure once a victim is infected, so immunization is the only way to prevent it from spreading and, eventually, kill it. (2)
There has been a global effort taken on by the governments of most countries to try and deal with Polio. Since 1988, when this effort began, the Polio incidence has dropped more than 99 percent and four of the world’s 6 regions recognized by the World Health Organization have been declared Polio free. Through government intervention and the requirement of vaccination, the disease is slowly but surely being killed off and prevented from spreading around the globe. According to the CDC, four fifths of the people on planet Earth now live in polio-free areas. Currently the disease is only present in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria. (3)
However, governments are not the only ones to impact the polio eradication effort. Many charities, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, have been trying to help in ways that governments sometimes cannot. “We contribute technical and financial resources to accelerate targeted vaccination campaigns, community mobilization, and routine immunizations. We also partner to improve polio surveillance and outbreak response; develop safer, more effective vaccines; and galvanize financial and political support for polio eradication efforts” (1)
As far as the private sector goes, it’s interesting to note that Jonas Salk, the developer of the Polio vaccine, did not patent it. He did this so that no one company or person, including himself, could make an excess of profits from its creation. By doing this, it guaranteed that the vaccine was cheap and easy to afford for all. Besides this, the private sector is only really involved in the manufacture of the vaccine to keep up with global demand.
One idea for a tri-sector approach would be to coordinate all efforts between governments, charities, and private companies. For example, if all private companies had health insurance that was guaranteed by the government to cover immunizations, and the government itself had the same health insurance policy, then that would give private citizens free access to vaccines and no financial reason to refuse them. The government could then sponsor charities and access areas where they often cannot, while also helping more remote communities.
References:
1. Polio. (n.d.) Retrieved March 14, 2017, from http://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Development/Polio/
2. Poliomyelitis (polio). (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2017, from http://www.who.int/topics/poliomyelitis/en/
3. Updates on CDC’s Polio Eradication Efforts. (2016, April 05). Retrieved March 14, 2017, from https://www.cdc.gov/polio/updates/