India declared polio free ...

A wonderful milestone!

On Thursday, March 27, as noted in a CNN article, "India and Southeast Asia were officially certified by the World Health Organization as being polio-free -- a momentous achievement for global public health and the worldwide effort to eradicate polio."

The article, written interestingly by the Indian actress, Freida Pinto, who starred in the movie, "Slum Dog Millionaire" also relates a bit of history that in the mid-1980s, 150,000 to 200,000 people were afflicted by polio, and, "even as recently as 2009, was home to nearly half the world's new polio cases."

In a Teatree blogpost of February 12, 2012, we saw where India at the time had been declared free of wild polio virus for one year by the World Health Organization (WHO). For today's post, apparently the WHO needs to see three years where no new cases have been reported, and that is the case.

India recognized by the WHO for its efforts and accomplishment, photo from The Guardian

The article continues, "Great achievements don't just happen; they require the great efforts of many. The polio eradication movement, started in 1988, was a joint effort between the Indian government; WHO; Rotary International; the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; UNICEF and various other NGOs; the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and about 2 million workers who vaccinated nearly 170 million throughout the country to finally wipe out the disease. Truly, this worldwide effort should serve as a reminder that when the global community bands together to solve an issue, great things can be achieved. And today should serve as a call to not simply continue the efforts but to exponentially increase them."

Click on image for full picture
Happier futures in store for the Indian population ... photo from the Hindu.com

In a wider context, India was one of 11 Asian countries declared polio free, resulting in an estimate that the disease for 80% of the world's population has been eradicated. In a Guardian UK article, the wider story continues,

"There are only three countries where polio is still endemic: Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. However, isolated outbreaks in the Horn of Africa and war-torn Syria emerged as causes for concern in 2013, and vaccination workers in Pakistan are still being killed by the Taliban. "Until polio is globally eradicated, all countries are at risk, and the region's polio-free status remains fragile," WHO's regional director, Poonam Khetrapal Singh cautioned."

Click on image for full picture
This graphic, contributed by reader in comments, shows it well. In a world of conflict and setbacks, enjoy this miraculous progress. Graphic from http://blog.jayparkinsonmd.com

India's story is remarkable all alone as has been noted, it was just 5 years ago the site of half of all the world's polio cases. A truly worthwhile effort which now must concentrate on the violent situation in Pakistan & Afghanistan, the chaotic and violent situation in Nigeria, and the anarchic situations in Somalia and Syria.

Abeyi residents on their own plan to choose between Sudan and South Sudan

28 months after South Sudan became an independent nation from Sudan, a disputed region between the two countries is about to decide on its own future. The Abeyi region is a rather important one for both nations as it is oil rich with implications for future wealth, which is why its status was left to be decided later. That time is tomorrow, Sunday, October 27, 2013.

Abeyi (state, province, prefecture, parish?)is an oil-rich region between Sudan and South Sudan, populated in the main by Ngok Dinka, though pastoralist Misseriya periodically graze their cattle here as well. Map from the BBC

Click on image for full picture
This map from Africa Confidential, shows the complexity of this small region, with the Sudan government having proposed a smaller boundary, the UN commission establishing a larger boundary, the Misseriya recognized to the north, the Ngok Dinka to the South, a recent series of military conflicts between the two nations in the Heglig oil fields, etc.

However, there is a problem

The referendum is not supported by either Sudan or South Sudan. Sudan, the Islamic Republic to the north wants a negotiated settlement between the two federal entities, while South Sudan says that the Abeyi peoples can't just hold a referendum on their own, rather that any such vote be supported by international monitoring and protocol (to avoid later charges of corruption and fraud). That seems like a rather nice long-term view on the part of South Sudan, even though reports indicate that the Ngok Dinka are likely to vote to join with South Sudan.

Click on image for full picture
Photo from Al Jazeera showing Dinka cattle herder

Click on image for full picture
Arab misseriya view the Abeyi region as one which they have some rights to as the region has always been one which they have grazed their cattle in, and consider the region as a "portal" between the Arab north and African south. Photo from radiotamazuj.org. Teatree happily admits he has no idea of who actually is a Misseriya or a Dinka in the two specific pictures shown here. Just an educated guess that lighter skin and turbans indicate Arab connections, while darker skin reflects Dinka genes and that cowboy hat is an affectation showing an affinity to South Sudan's cowboy-hat-wearing President Salva Kiir.

Nonetheless, something will happen tomorrow, a strong Dinka vote for union with South Sudan will be on the record regardless of its international acceptance, and we'll see whether the two national governments will heed the vote and move at all on the current boundary status ...

Meanwhile, both Sudan and South Sudan are continuing their efforts to inoculate their citizens against polio which has emerged in scattered pockets along the neighbors' loosely governed border regions. Let's hope that these vaccination programs continue regardless of the outcome of the Abeyi referendum ...

Click on image for full picture
South Sudan health workers walking into village to provide oral doses of polio vaccine. Photo from www.gurtong.net