Summary of the Plan
I propose the following:
1. That the WHO and other organizations work with with local leaders in the remaining endemic countries to better understand and learn the social and cultural barriers that prevent the eradication of polio in their countries. Educating people is not enough. Paternalism on the part of the organizations is not appreciated in these countries just like it is no longer acceptable in this country. By recruiting knowledgeable individuals, knowledgeable in the cultural, social and religious practices of the people as well as in the eradications effort, it will be easier to with local communities and their leaders in an effort to move the initiative forward; instead of what seems to be happening- one step forward and two steps back so to speak.
2. Improving the health care infrastructure. With the amount of money that has been poured into this effort over nearly 20 years, it appears that perhaps a better investment at the time would have been to build well staffed clinics in local communities that could not only address polio vaccination but other vaccinations and other basic health care needs.
3. A Better Vaccine – Research for a better vaccine is important. It may not seem important at this late stage of the effort but it is crucial to the success of the GPEI. The vaccines for the most part are the same vaccines used since 1955. While they have been instrumental in bringing the effort to its current state, they will not aid in sustaining the elimination of the viruses and perhaps be responsible for reintroduction. Currently, IPV is too expensive for these remaining countries to purchase and it is more difficult to administer. The companies that produce the current vaccines have no real incentive to research and develop a new less problematic vaccine. The word is out (Heyman, 2005 and Griffiths, 2006) but the money needs to get out to researchers. Without this critical change the entire eradication effort may be in jeopardy.
As was stated earlier,$ 5 million dollars compared to the $5.3 billion dollars spent thus far is a drop in the bucket, however it can be put to good use to aid in the effort of eradication in these final four countries with the added benefit of sustaining eradication on a world-wide scale. Therefore I propose that the $5 million be used to fund up to 3 research grants at 1.5 million dollars each to be used for the sole purpose of funding research for new polio vaccinations that eliminate the problems associated with the current vaccines. Since time is of the essence the grants will be offered to individuals/institutions already experienced in the process of vaccine research and development. The money will be available over a three year period and can be pulled for a lack of progress. The money can be used for, among other things, appropriate laboratory equipment, salary support for the research team, and travel related to the research. Preference will be given to those institutions who contribute monetary and “in kind” support toward the research effort equal to 30-50% of the total grant amount. Research progress and financial status will be evaluated on an annual basis by an independent research team and financial auditor respectively. See full report for financial details.
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