Feature: Wipe out polio, now! By Ban Ki-moon, UN S-G Wild
viruses and wildfires have two things in common. If neglected,
they can spread out of control. If handled properly, they can be
stamped out for good. Today, the flame of polio is near
extinction — but sparks in three countries threaten to ignite a
global blaze. Now is the moment to act. During the next two
weeks, on two continents, two events offer the chance for a
breakthrough. First, the leaders of the world’s largest
economies — the G8 — congregate at the U.S. presidential retreat
at Camp David in rural Maryland. A week later, the world’s
ministers of health convene in Geneva. Together, they can push
to deliver on an epic promise: to liberate humankind from one of
the world’s most deadly and debilitating diseases. The world’s
war on polio, declared nearly a quarter of a century ago, was as
ambitious an undertaking as the successful campaign to eradicate
another great public health menace, smallpox. Slowly but surely,
over the years, we have advanced