Political Quotes

“today is World Polio Day, and I want to comment briefly about the funding to support global polio eradication efforts in the Senate version of the fiscal year 2020 Department of State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill, which was reported unanimously by the Appropriations Committee on September 26. Polio is a highly infectious, crippling, and potentially fatal disease. While there is no cure, there are safe and effective vaccines. The global strategy to eradicate polio, therefore, focuses on preventing infection by immunizing every child until transmission stops and the world is polio-free. Through the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, the United States provides financial support and technical leadership around the world to support the eradication strategy. USAID focuses specifically on recognizing and raising the importance of identifying and reaching mobile populations, cross-border coordination, communications, and the need for more women vaccinators and community- based disease surveillance. Since global polio eradication efforts began 30 years ago, when cases numbered 350,000 annually, polio has been eliminated in more than 120 countries and remains endemic in only three--Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan. While significant progress has been made, much work remains. Cases of polio persist in insecure areas and in countries with porous borders and large migratory populations, posing considerable obstacles to eradication.…”