Every dollar invested in fighting polio in the Eastern Mediterranean region yields a return of nearly $39, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.

WHO commissioned a study covering eight priority countries – Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen –  which found that maintaining polio-related measures and integrating them into expanded immunization, surveillance and response programmes results in nearly $290 billion in economic and social benefits.

Currently, these activities cost around $7.5 billion, which means that for every dollar spent, the return on investment is almost $39.

“We at WHO emphasize the importance of strengthening essential programmes, like the national routine immunization programme, and also strengthening emergency response to take advantage of all the polio assets, and building health systems,” said Dr. Rana Hajjeh from its regional office for the Eastern Mediterranean.

Many of countries in the region face challenges ranging from weak healthcare systems and political instability to low routine vaccination coverage.

WHO and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are stakeholders in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative which for years has been providing indispensable technical and financial support there. 

Source: UN News

https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/02/1146547