The battle against polio is an extraordinary example of what can be achieved when we work together. This terrible disease, as my generation knows well, once cast a shadow over childhood across the world. Before the development of an effective vaccine nearly 60 years ago, it paralysed and killed up to half a million people every year.
Our collective effort to protect children from polio has united the world in a remarkable way. It has brought together UN agencies, governments, foundations, and private businesses as well as the funding and support of a million Rotarians who adopted this global cause as their own. Its success has brought broader benefits by demonstrating the incredible power of vaccines and helping drive improvements in health systems and services.
By 2000, we had cut dramatically the number of cases worldwide. But the disease was still found in 20 countries across large areas of Africa and Asia which was why, as UN Secretary-General, I made it a global priority to increase our efforts to eradicate polio.
Thirteen years later, this goal is now tantalisingly within our reach. The total number of cases worldwide last year fell to a record low of 223. After an extraordinary effort, India, perhaps the country which had the greatest challenge, has celebrated two full years without a single confirmed case. The disease is now endemic in only three nations: Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.
In these countries, polio largely survives in the communities on the fringes of society. It is the children of nomads, migrant workers, displaced populations and those living in areas of conflict and insecurity who are most at risk.
This is, of course, why eradicating polio is both so difficult and important. We have to deliver vaccines to the most marginalised of children, beyond the reach of the most basic of health services. But in doing so, we demonstrate our fundamental belief in the equal worth of every person. All children, whoever they are and wherever they live, deserve the protection life-saving vaccines provide.
But tackling polio is not only about altruism. Just as the prize is great if we succeed, so too is the fallout if we fail. The World Health Organisation has warned the disease could again break out with a forecast of at least 200,000 new polio cases annually within 10 years. The hard-won progress of the last decades will be reversed.
We cannot let this unique opportunity to create a lasting polio-free world be lost. It is why last year, under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the international community pledged to intensify efforts to eradicate the disease.
To realise this ambition, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative - a partnership which includes governments, the WHO, Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Unicef and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and is supported by the UN Foundation - has developed a six-year comprehensive strategy. It requires the countries where polio remains endemic to step up their efforts to vaccinate all their children, over 100 other nations to refine their polio immunisation programmes and the global community to find the US$5.5 billion (Dh20.2) needed in funding.
We have the strong personal commitment of the leaders of Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan, already translated into effective programmes, to overcome local and security challenges to deliver vaccines to the hardest-to-reach children. These leaders have been supported by religious, traditional and community leaders who understand the importance of achieving this goal. Now it is up to the rest of us to ensure the money is available to help them.
Guaranteeing these funds is one of the main reasons for the Global Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi this week. I would urge both new partners, including philanthropists and the private sector, and past donors - including the G8 and the EU - to dig deep to support this cause.
But the summit is also an opportunity to highlight the critical role of vaccines in improving health and driving development. We now have the vaccines to protect against a wide variety of deadly diseases. All children, whoever they are and wherever they live, deserve this protection.
Our success in tackling polio has already spared over 10 million people from lifelong paralysis while the financial benefits of ending the disease have been estimated at over $40 billion, with most of those savings accruing to the world's poorest countries. Global public goods such as disease eradication deliver a better and more equitable world for everybody.
We now have the chance to consign polio, like smallpox, to the history books. By coming together, we can pass a crucial milestone in transforming global health, demonstrate how collective action delivers social justice and equity, and blaze a path for the next ambitious goal for public good.
Kofi Annan was Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. In 2001, Mr Annan and the United Nations were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. The two-day Global Vaccine Summit, held in Abu Dhabi, begins tomorrow.
www.globalvaccinesummit.org
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
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Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Picture of Joumblatt and Hariri breaking bread sets Twitter alight
Mr Joumblatt’s pessimism regarding the Lebanese political situation didn’t stop him from enjoying a cheerful dinner on Tuesday with several politicians including Mr Hariri.
Caretaker Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury tweeted a picture of the group sitting around a table at a discrete fish restaurant in Beirut’s upscale Sodeco area.
Mr Joumblatt told The National that the fish served at Kelly’s Fish lounge had been very good.
“They really enjoyed their time”, remembers the restaurant owner. “Mr Hariri was taking selfies with everybody”.
Mr Hariri and Mr Joumblatt often have dinner together to discuss recent political developments.
Mr Joumblatt was a close ally of Mr Hariri’s assassinated father, former prime minister Rafik Hariri. The pair were leading figures in the political grouping against the 15-year Syrian occupation of Lebanon that ended after mass protests in 2005 in the wake of Rafik Hariri’s murder. After the younger Hariri took over his father’s mantle in 2004, the relationship with Mr Joumblatt endured.
However, the pair have not always been so close. In the run-up to the election last year, Messrs Hariri and Joumblatt went months without speaking over an argument regarding the new proportional electoral law to be used for the first time. Mr Joumblatt worried that a proportional system, which Mr Hariri backed, would see the influence of his small sect diminished.
With so much of Lebanese politics agreed in late-night meetings behind closed doors, the media and pundits put significant weight on how regularly, where and with who senior politicians meet.
In the picture, alongside Messrs Khoury and Hariri were Mr Joumbatt and his wife Nora, PSP politician Wael Abou Faour and Egyptian ambassador to Lebanon Nazih el Nagari.
The picture of the dinner led to a flurry of excitement on Twitter that it signified an imminent government formation. “God willing, white smoke will rise soon and Walid Beik [a nickname for Walid Joumblatt] will accept to give up the minister of industry”, one user replied to the tweet. “Blessings to you…We would like you to form a cabinet”, wrote another.
The next few days will be crucial in determining whether these wishes come true.
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Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.