OP/ED in CNN: The promise of vaccines

Having witnessed firsthand the ravages of polio, nothing can be more gratifying for me than to watch the world unite to eradicate this debilitating and crippling disease.

In late April 2013, Bill Gates, UNSG Ban Ki-moon and the Prince of Abu Dhabi co-hosted a vaccine summit, where world leaders pledged over $4 bn of the $5.6 bn to eradicate polio, also called the End Game.


Following that conference I have written this opinion piece, where I state that moving towards eradicating polio sets the stage for improved health systems and marks the blue print for eradicating many other diseases all over the world.


This summit has filled me with optimism for the future that no child has to ever suffer the egregious effects of this disease and we move towards creating a world free of other preventable diseases. The past week saw the World Health Assembly in Geneva. We have also seen polio has reemerge in Kenya and Somalia. World leaders and organizations once again came together to reaffirm their resolve to eradicate polio forever and treat it as a health emergency. 
This piece is also a tribute to the leadership and passion of Bill Gates and members of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, that have got us this far in reducing polio globally.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/04/opinion/chatterjee-promise-of-vaccines/


Challenges remain-but none insurmountable.

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