Melissa Parke (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Health) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) commends the Government for reaffirming Australia's support for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (the Initiative) by maintaining the $15 million commitment for 2013-14;

(2) notes that:

(a) on 13 January 2014, India passed three years without reporting a single case of polio, an achievement reports say will lead to the entire South-East Asia Region of the World Health Organisation being certified as polio-free later in 2014;

(b) lessons learned from India's success are now part of the Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan 2013-2018 announced at the Global Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi in 2013;

(c) the Initiative should mobilise the polio eradication infrastructure for broader child survival efforts wherever possible, ensuring that the knowledge, capacities, processes and assets created by the Initiative contribute to reducing child deaths, accelerating the achievement of Millennium Development Goal 4;

(d) despite ongoing security challenges, in the three countries where polio remains endemic—Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria—the proportion of children vaccinated during 2013 increased;

(e) in 2013 for the first time in the history of the Initiative, all cases of poliomyelitis caused by a wild virus were due to a single serotype, type 1; the most recent case due to wild poliovirus type 3 occurring on 10 November 2012 in Nigeria, while a case of poliovirus type 2 has not been detected since 1999;

(f) polio outbreaks in previously polio-free countries—Somalia, Syria, Cameroon—and the presence of the polio virus in Egypt and Israel are constant reminders of the need to ensure the polio program is fully funded and of the need for countries to take full ownership of the implementation of emergency plans; and

(g) the World Health Organisation, its Initiative partners and the GAVI Alliance have initiated a joint program of work to ensure polio eradication infrastructure systematically contributes to improving routine immunisation coverage; and

(3) calls on the Government to continue to support polio eradication by reaffirming Australia's commitment to provide $80 million over four years from 2015 to 2018 to the Initiative.

To have a sense of how difficult it is to eradicate an infectious disease, we need only consider that in human history we have achieved this twice: we have achieved it with smallpox and also with rinderpest, a viral disease that affects cattle, sheep and other ruminants. Yet today we are on the cusp of being able to add a third disease to this list, in the form of polio. It was an Australian, Frank Fenner, who played a key role in driving the smallpox eradication effort, and it was an Australian in Sir Clem Renouf who was pivotal in kick-starting Rotary's efforts to eradicate polio. Australian aid funding and the work of our NGOs continues to assist a worldwide effort that is carrying us towards the finish line in 2018, when hopefully the World Health Organisation will be in a position to declare the world polio free.

Under the leadership of Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd, Australia significantly increased its commitment to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, the GPEI. In 2011 the Labor government pledged $50 million over four years. In March last year, we committed a further $80 million for four years from 2015-16. At the time this motion was tabled, that further funding for polio eradication remained in doubt, and I acknowledge the efforts led by the Global Poverty Project, and in particular Michael Sheldrick, and Rotary to convince the current government to match Labor's funding. At a time when the aid budget has been significantly cut, the Prime Minister's announcement a few weeks ago at the Rotary International Conference in Sydney that the government would honour Labor's commitment was very welcome.

Polio is a crippling disease with a simple solution—two small drops. We know what is required to eradicate polio; we just have to fund it. That is why the commitment by Australia to the GPEI is pivotal to achieving a polio-free world. The gains made to date in the provision of vaccines and the spread of routine immunisation are impressive. In March 2014, 11 countries in the South-East Asian region—including India, comprising 1.8 billion people—were declared polio free by the World Health Organisation. This meant the proportion of the world's population living polio free jumped from 52 per cent to 80 per cent, an incredible leap forward.

Now is the time to press forward and bring an end to polio in countries like Nigeria and everywhere the disease is endemic. Progress in Nigeria over the past year has been promising, especially in Kano state, the main source of polio viruses in the country. Only a few years ago Nigeria had more polio cases than any other country. Last year, Nigeria saw a 50 per cent reduction in polio cases compared to the previous 12 months. As of 10 April this year, only one case had been reported. Today, we can see our way to the end of the disease in that country. But the time to invest is now. Significant challenges remain. Insecurity and violence in north-east Nigeria mean thousands of children are not being immunised. A strong routine immunisation program is required to sustain polio eradication, to improve immunisation coverage and to serve as a platform for improving child and maternal health.

In Pakistan, another country that suffers the debilitating effects of endemic polio, the national and local government leaders are fully invested in overcoming vaccination bans and fears that fuel an increase in polio cases. For example, Peshawar's local government initiated the Sehat Ka Insaf, Justice for Health campaign. It is delivering nine child health interventions, including polio vaccine. A similar approach is being taken in areas of Karachi that are difficult to access. National Islamic leaders have issued 28 fatwas promoting the safety of the polio vaccine and the importance of vaccinating children. In the context of the progress that has been made, it is sobering to reflect on the fact that the World Health Organization has officially declared the international spread of wild poliovirus in 2014 as a public health emergency of international concern.

To end polio and to realise the broad benefits eradication will bring, we still need unwavering political and financial commitment from across the global community. We need immediate vaccination of children in north-east Waziristan, Pakistan, to stop the intense outbreak in that region; as well as in parts of Nigeria and in outbreak countries, particularly Syria and Somalia. We need polio-free countries to maintain high levels of routine immunisation to ensure that all children are being reached with the vaccines that they need.

As we approach the end of polio, let us remember that this achievement has wider implications. Not only does it demonstrate the life-changing impact of our aid dollars; it also demonstrations that the lessons, assets and infrastructure of the polio program could greatly enhance child survival efforts. In vaccinating children in some of the most remote, vulnerable and socially marginalised communities, the polio program has created a blueprint for reaching every child with critical lifesaving interventions. If partner agencies and donor governments seize on this opportunity, we can dramatically reduce child deaths even further, accelerating progress and reaching the fourth millennium development goal.

Finally, as we get to the brink of an incredible world achievement, the end of polio, I want to pay tribute to the committed partnerships of teams such as Rotary, UNICEF, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Health Organization and the Global Poverty Project.

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