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This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
Remarks by Donald L. Pressley
Assistant Administrator,
Bureau for Europe and Eurasia
Rotary International Congressional Reception
To Celebrate Progress in the Fight to Eradicate Polio Worldwide
Tuesday, May 15, 2001
Thanks to Rotary International for hosting this event. And to Chairman Kolbe, Rep. Lowey, and other Members of Congress whose dedication to children's health makes our work possible.
I am pleased to join the Rotary International President-elect Richard King and Dr. Walter Ornstein of the Centers for Disease Control in opening this session. I am also pleased to meet Dr. Marina Weiss, March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation. On behalf of USAID, I look forward to a continued partnership with all of you.
USAID has been working to combat polio for more than 20 years, and I am very pleased to see other valued partners from UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and the CORE consortium.
Rotary launched PolioPlus in 1985, a 20-year commitment to eradicate polio worldwide - one of the most ambitious humanitarian and development undertakings ever made by a private entity. I remember the skepticism that greeted such a bold commitment.
Rotary has done a great job raising funds, seeking political commitment and rallying volunteers. You managed to raise nearly half a billion dollars for this cause, an extraordinary amount for a volunteer organization.
Now, Rotarians volunteer in every country of the world to immunize children during National Immunization Days.
USAID is proud to be a partner with Rotary and many others in this global campaign to eradicate polio. The Agency is fully committed to stopping poliovirus transmission by 2002, and to assuring that all regions of the world become certified polio free by 2005.
With Congress's help, since 1996 USAID has committed $134 million for the fight against polio - and we'll provide another $27 million this year. We use this funding, our technical expertise, and our field support, to help assure that the vaccine reaches every child and that every child receives the vaccine. That includes supporting social mobilization efforts and national immunization days, designing strategies to reach unvaccinated children, and building the capacity of laboratories to detect polio and other killer diseases.
These tools strengthen our efforts to combat other diseases and improve child health services worldwide.
Our partnership with the Voice of America has generated thousands of radio messages in 17 languages, spreading the good news that parents can protect their children from polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
It is amazing what an alliance this serious and this dedicated can accomplish. In one year, this partnership vaccinated nearly half a billion children all over the world - half a billion kids who will never have to fear this disease.
As all of us know, the last mile is the hardest. The challenges we face in reaching those last few reservoirs of polio are daunting: including civil wars, a lack of basic infrastructure, and cultural barriers. Nevertheless, I know I join all of our partners in saying that we will complete the job of eradicating polio.
This model of public-private partnership is not just a success story - it is a paradigm for private-public collaborations to fight poverty and disease in the 21st century. It is increasingly clear that to address many of the development challenges of today, effective, durable partnerships must be established among the U.S. Government, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, host governments, and other stakeholders.
At USAID, we call this new paradigm the Global Development Alliance. USAID increasingly sees itself as a strategic alliance investor, a role akin to that of a venture capital partner, in the resolution of serious development issues. Unlike a venture capital fund, however, the Agency will not try to jump in and out of the activities in which it invests. Instead, a sustained involvement with others, calling on their expertise, enthusiasm and commitment will build capital in the investment for development.
As USAID expands its strategic alliances to address today's global development challenges, the collaborative fight against polio will serve as a model.
And, with leaders like Rotary International, March of Dimes, and others, eradicating polio will be one of many remarkable accomplishments.
Let me say again, on behalf of USAID, how proud we are to be part of the goal of making the world polio free.
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Last Updated on: January 02, 2009 |
