LETTER FROM INDIA

Monday, 30th of January 2012

Among the four polio endemic countries, India has something to celebrate: one year without a single WPV. Herewith, a letter from Ellyn Ogden of USAID, with her personal views of the celebrations.

NOTES FROM ELLYN OGDEN:

Hi Everyone:

I thought you might be interested in seeing several blogs I was asked to write on my experience in India on the anniversary of the last case. I was also interviewed by John Donnelly of the GlobalPost. I've also posted many of the photos from this trip on SkyDrive - hope you are able to open them.

Below are the links.

USAID IMPACT Blogs Part 1 and 2

http://blog.usaid.gov/2012/01/a-triumph-of-coordination-eradicating-polio-from-india/

http://blog.usaid.gov/2012/01/a-triumph-of-coordination-to-the-last-case-in-india-and-beyond/#more-9817

(Note: Reposted on the State Department DipNote site: http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/entry/coordination_india_polio)

Gates Foundation Blog: http://www.impatientoptimists.org/Posts/2012/01/Polio-Eradication-in-Action--Avoiding-Complacency

GlobalPost Interview: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/global-pulse/indias-polio-progress-and-the-global-eradication-effort

It was so nice to be in the field on such a momentous occasion. I must have visited India 30 - 40 times, monitoring campaigns in some of the most difficult, densely populated, and anti-immunization communities. At one point I figured I'd been to about 50 districts, was the first to monitor cross-border movements with Nepal, and had been to most of the 20 or so Polio Advisory panels held in the country. The level of effort by the indian government can not be under-estimated. This is indeed India's most important health achievement since smallpox eradication.

Warm regards,

Ellyn