Baxter grants $200,000 to global polio eradication initiative.(Brief Article)

2002 SEP 18 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Baxter International Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Baxter International, Inc., has awarded a $200,000 grant to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, which is spearheaded by the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

The grant, which will be given over 3 years, was recognized July 26, at the Annual Polio Orientation and Planning Meeting in New Delhi, India, which is being sponsored by Rotary International.

The partners in this global initiative have led a massive, 15-year campaign that has driven the incidence of polio to its lowest point in history - only 480 cases were reported globally in 2001.

The Baxter International Foundation grant will support a final push toward total eradication by specifically funding polio immunization and laboratory surveillance in New Delhi, one of the remaining spots for poliovirus transmission. The city attracts large migrant populations from polio endemic areas of the country, and the many high-rise apartment buildings make door-to-door immunization campaigns difficult.

The goal of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative is to eradicate polio from all corners of the world by the end of the year 2005. Only 10 polio endemic countries remain, yet intensity of poliovirus transmission is highest in India. The other endemic countries are: Afghanistan, Angola, Egypt, Ethiopia, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, ...