For millennia, this species made its way into human communities around the world, seeking and finding hospitable places to live. But in 1988, its fortunes changed: a determined group of people decided to stop it in its tracks, and it began to die off. Today, it’s nearly gone from the face of the earth.
I'm not talking about endangered animals or plants. The species teetering on the verge of extinction is a debilitating and deadly virus: polio. In this case the extinction will be welcome, marking the end of a devastating disease that can permanently paralyze or kill the young children on which it most frequently preys.
Since that determined group — the Global Polio Eradication Initiative spearheaded by the World Health Organization, UNICEF, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Rotary International — began to vaccinate children in every country almost three decades ago, it has become progressively harder for the virus to find unprotected children to infect.
About the author
Jay Wenger
Dr. Jay Wenger leads the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s polio eradication efforts within the Global Development Program. He manages a high-performing team and works across the foundation to drive instrumental advocacy work, resource mobilization, communications, and research and product development. He represents the foundation both internally and externally and helps to shape and execute the polio eradication strategy.
