Britain to 'stand together' with other stakeholders to eradicate polio

Apr 23 2013

"[V]accinations play a huge part in deciding a country's long-term health," and "[t]he more healthy a population, the better able it is to contribute to and benefit from economic development," British Secretary of State for International Development Justine Greening writes in an Independent opinion piece. "Britain will not stand on the sidelines while easily preventable diseases are still a risk to thousands of people across the world," she states, noting, "This week, at the Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi, we will stand together with states from the Gulf region, the U.S., Germany, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rotary and others to commit to a six-year plan to consign polio to the history books." She concludes, "Our generation has a genuine opportunity to make the devastating disease of polio just the second human disease in history to be completely eradicated. This week's Vaccine Summit represents a historic opportunity to give these efforts one final push. It's time to end the suffering once and for all" (4/21).