Devex: Polio endgame strategy includes tech, new vaccines
“The Global Polio Eradication Initiative hopes to use novel oral polio vaccines and adopt smartphone technologies in the next five years, under a new strategy unveiled on Tuesday. Several novel oral polio vaccines designed to eliminate the risk of vaccine-derived polio cases are currently being developed by PATH and partners. … Meanwhile, smartphone technologies such as e-Surve will help in disease surveillance and faster response. … GPEI is also planning to establish a regional hub in Amman, Jordan, allowing for easier coordination and increased technical support for polio vaccination programs in the two polio-endemic countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. … These are just some of the new approaches GPEI will be implementing under its new strategy from 2019 to 2023…” (Ravelo, 5/1).

The Telegraph: World has ‘limited window of opportunity’ to eradicate polio, experts warn
“There is a ‘limited window of opportunity’ for the world to consign polio to the history books, experts launching a new five-year eradication plan have warned. The Polio Endgame Strategy, published on Tuesday, says that efforts to eradicate the final cases of the disease are proving difficult due to war, mass migration, and weak health systems — meaning many children miss out and do not receive vital vaccinations. … The new strategy, published by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, says that reaching these children is ‘the primary underlying challenge’ in attempts to stop all new cases of the debilitating disease…” (Newey, 4/30).