David Heymann
Professor, Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Book Recommendations:
Recommended by David Heymann
“Thomas Abraham vividly describes polio eradication from its inception -- when Rotary International had the vision of a more equitable world free of polio -- to the formation of the polio partnership. A timely investigation into the frustrations and fidelity of the polio partners and countries at a time when the end is in sight but not quite attained, and the complex endgame in which the vaccine used to eradicate polio has become an unanticipated risk.” (from Amazon)
In 1988, the World Health Organization launched a twelve-year campaign to wipe out polio. Thirty years and several billion dollars over budget later, the campaign grinds on, vaccinating millions of children and hoping that each new year might see an end to the disease. But success remains elusive, against a surprisingly resilient virus, an unexpectedly weak vaccine and the vagaries of global politics, meeting with indifference from governments and populations alike. How did an innocuous campaign to rid the world of a crippling disease become a hostage of geopolitics? Why do parents refuse to vaccinate their children against polio? And why have poorly paid door-to-door healthworkers been assassinated? Thomas Abraham reports on the ground in search of answers.