Polio is an ancient disease that has been around for thousands of years. But in our recent history there has been a concerted effort to eradicate this nasty disease that has ravaged so many lives for so long. Even as little back as 1988 there were still 125 polio-endemic countries in the world; now there are only three. Now is the time for the world to come together and, once and for all, destroy polio. So, let's meet the organisations leading the fight against polio, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

Rotary International is a membership based organisation that spans the globe. Based on six continents with over 1.2 million members, Rotary International has led the charge in the fight against polio for the last 35 years. In 1979 the club started a fundraising project to immunise 6 million children in the Philippines and thanks to their continued effort, there are now only 3 polio-endemic countries left in the world. They are one of the major organisations spearheading the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

The World Health Organisation (or the WHO- not to be confused with Doctor) is the health authority of the United Nations. They’re responsible for providing leadership on global health matters and are the organisation that coordinates the major strategic planning, management and administration processes of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. 

Unicef are the organisation that champions the rights of children across the world. They have the global influence to affect the decisions of governments, as well as working with partners across the world to deliver grassroots activity and campaigning. They are a major player in the fight to end polio, helping to distribute the vaccine to millions of children, but their support doesn’t end there. They also work with the countries affected, helping to coordinate strategies and policies for dealing with polio.

The Centre of Disease Control and Prevention is a US Government agency. They deploy epidemiologists, public health experts, and scientists to WHO and UNICEF for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. They also use their expertise to investigate outbreaks of polio to determine the exact location and strain of the disease so that a strategy can be devised on how to best tackle it.

You may know of Bill Gates as the former Microsoft CEO and one of the richest men in the world, but did you know that along with his wife they also started the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the largest philanthropic organisations in the world? With offices around the world, including one in the UK, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been the biggest private donor in the fight against polio, donating a massive $1.3 billion. Although they are not one of the organisations spearheading the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, they are still, along with other major partners, vitally important in wiping this disease out once and for all.

It just goes to show that when the world comes together to fight disease, we can achieve some incredible things. Over 99% of the polio virus has been wiped out and the Global Polio Eradication Alliance is working hard to eradicate it completely by 2018.

But polio isn’t the only killer out there. The developing world is rife with diseases that people like me and you don’t really have to worry about. Yellow fever, pneumonia and diarrhea are some of the biggest killers of children in the poorest of the worlds countries but who is fighting these diseases? Introducing Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

Gavi is an international organisation that was created in 2000 to improve access to new and underused vaccines for children living in the world’s poorest countries. Based in Geneva, Switzerland, Gavi is the Vaccine Alliance, which brings together public and private sectors with the shared goal of creating equal access to vaccines for children, wherever they live. So far they have immunised nearly half a billion children and saved six million lives.

Gavi needs money in order to save lives. Since the launch of the alliance, the UK has been a leader in international aid and is a major donor of funds for Gavi. Over the next few months, donors from around the world will announce their funding commitments, hopefully enabling Gavi to continue its work in the 2016-20 period, vaccinating 300 million children, and saving another 6 million lives in the process. It's important that the UK continues to show strong leadership.

Take action now by signing the petition to encourage world leaders to prioritise vaccinations, and fund Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.