Polio eradication: lessons for COVID-19 and beyond with Chris Maher AO

Photo by Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

Eradicating polio has been a long and hard road, and every step brought new challenges and lessons. What can we learn from the experience of polio eradication that bears on public health in general? Are there lessons relevant now and in the future?

Hear from Chris Maher (AO), former Director of the WHO Regional Centre for Polio Eradication and Health Emergencies and Senior Adviser to the WHO Director-General. When Maher started at the WHO in 1993, polio was in over a hundred countries. Today, the disease has been beaten back by 99%. Maher spearheaded on-the-ground efforts for the global polio eradication initiative across hard-to-reach communities in South-East Asia, Pacific Islands, China, and beyond. Maher was involved in everything to do with vaccine-preventable diseases, from vaccination campaigns to case and outbreak investigations.

After Maher's presentation, there will be a time for a Q&A session.

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