W.H.O. AND THE G.P.E.I. – WHERE TO NOW?

The WHO is a founding partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and historically the US government has been the second biggest contributor to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

What impact will these moves have on our goal for a polio free world?

Article by PDG Murray Verso, Zone 8 End Polio Now Coordinator

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) is a public/private partnership created in 1988 to eradicate poliomyelitis. It is the largest international public health initiative in history.

In 1987, Rotary International began a campaign to raise U.S. $100 million by its 100th anniversary, for the purpose of dealing with global polio. The following year, the World Health Assembly voted to establish the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. At the time, there were 125 countries with endemic polio and around 350,000 cases worldwide were being diagnosed each year.

The GPEI is led by national governments with six partners – the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International (RI), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Its goal is to eradicate polio worldwide.

The initiative is spearheaded by the following organisations in the form of multi stakeholder governance:

• The WHO is responsible for planning, technical direction, surveillance and eradication certification. It is not yet clear what effect, if any, the loss of US government support will have on the various WHO programs including polio eradication.

• Rotary International’s responsibilities include fundraising, advocacy, and volunteer recruitment. Through its PolioPlus programme, established in 1985, Rotary was the first to have the vision of a polio-free world.

• The CDC, deploys scientists and public health experts to WHO and UNICEF

• UNICEF oversees the distribution of the vaccine and helping countries develop communication and awareness strategies.

• The Gates Foundation provides the largest portion of the funding.

Historically, as can be seen in the attached graph, the USA, has been the second biggest financial contributor to the GPEI. In October 2024, the GPEI set a revised total budget of US$6.9 billion to deliver a polio-free world by 2029. Clearly, the loss of a major funding partner will make it harder to achieve this figure.

As the United Nation's specialised health agency, the WHO is mandated to coordinate the world's response to global health threats, including outbreaks of mpox, Ebola and polio. The United States is by far the WHO's biggest financial backer, contributing around 18% of its overall funding.

Under a 1948 joint resolution of the U.S. Congress, President Trump must give a one-year notice of U.S. withdrawal from the Geneva-based WHO and Washington must pay dues until January 2026. Cessation of US funding of WHO has the potential to make the U.S. and other countries less safe from infectious diseases and other public-health threats. Let us hope that over the next 12 months wiser heads prevail.

Rotary International has responded to the news with a statement that includes the following: “Although this decision creates new challenges, Rotary remains dedicated to ensuring that every child is protected from this preventable disease. We are confident that the GPEI will continue to adapt, to innovate, and to implement effective strategies to keep polio vaccines available for every child in the United States and around the world, especially those in the most challenging and remote regions.”

"The full statement, published on February 6, can be read on the Rotary International website: Rotary’s response to the U.S.’s plan to withdraw from the WHO, USAID funding freeze."