After polio: Imagining, planning, and delivering a world beyond eradication

Area of Science:

• Global Health
• Public Health Policy
• Sociology of Science

Background:

• The world is nearing polio eradication, necessitating strategic planning for the post-eradication era.
• The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) has mobilized substantial resources, presenting a challenge for future global health initiatives.
• Transitioning from a major eradication program requires careful consideration of resource allocation and institutional shifts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze institutional efforts in conceptualizing, planning, and implementing a post-polio world.
• To critically examine the risks and underlying assumptions associated with the wind-down of the GPEI.
• To explore the perspectives of global health officials and fieldwork in Nigeria and Pakistan regarding polio transition.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative research approach.
• Interviews with global health officials involved in polio eradication.
• Ethnographic fieldwork conducted within polio eradication initiatives in Nigeria and Pakistan.

Main Results:

• International donors are actively transitioning resources and strategies post-polio.
• The wind-down of the GPEI presents significant risks that are often overlooked.
• Transition planning is frequently framed as a technical exercise, obscuring deeper spatial and political assumptions.

Conclusions:

• Effective planning for a post-polio world requires addressing complex political and spatial dimensions, not just technical aspects.
• The curtailment of GPEI resources necessitates a re-evaluation of global health priorities and structures.
• Understanding the assumptions embedded in transition planning is crucial for shaping the future of global health.