Dear Editor,
It seems that every day the news media bring us sad stories of violence, war and climate disaster. But one bright spot in the midst of the gloom is the story of the movement to end polio.
Since the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988, global polio cases have dropped by more than 99 per cent.
The latest success story comes from Nigeria, which was home to half of all polio cases in 2012, but has now been free of polio for over a year. Many participants from all over the world — from international organizations to local community volunteers — have worked together to make the successes possible. But the struggle is not over. As long as the wild polio virus remains in existence, there remains the threat of a resurgence that could undo almost 30 years of progress.
Canada has been a leader in funding polio eradication efforts and can now have the satisfaction of leading the last big push to eliminate polio by 2018.
Following the eradication of smallpox, it’s only the second time in history that the world has a chance to come together as a human family to eliminate a common enemy. Let’s make it happen.
Chitra Ramaswami
Calgary Alta.
