Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

More than 100 years have passed since the first polio epidemic of 1894 and we are still working to fight the disease. Although 2002 saw the eradication of the illness in Europe, 10 years later, in 2012, five countries still remained affected by the virus including Afghanistan, Chad, Nigeria, Pakistan and Niger. The world is still left with more than 200 cases of polio remaining. Polio is an incurable virus that can infect a person of any age. With less built-up immune systems, children are however more susceptible to the illness and make up roughly 50 per cent of polio victims. Treatment for polio bears great difficulties, as 95 per cent of polio cases show no symptoms, with only a small number of sufferers experiencing fevers, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain or diarrhoea. Despite its lack of obvious symptoms upon onset, polio is an incredibly life-affecting virus, often leading to paralysis and circulatory distress. As science is yet to equip doctors with a cure for polio, the best prevention for the virus is by way of vaccination. Until each and every child has been vaccinated, the polio virus will continue to be alive and will affect the minds and bodies of its innocent and undeserving victims.

The World Health Organization, its initiative partners and the GAVI Alliance have all initiated a joint program of work to ensure polio eradication infrastructure, systematically contributing to the improvement of routine immunisation coverage.

This motion 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. Such work undertaken by the WHO has inspired the Australian government to go beyond the $80 million requested, from 2015 to 2018, and instead contribute to funding the polio program to the sum of $100 million over five years. This commitment will strengthen health systems to deliver routine immunisation and will improve a country's capacity to control all communicable diseases including polio.

The federal government realises the extent to which this virus damages those affected and pledges to do all it can to assist to eradicate the virus. The financial contribution will be used by the World Health Organization not only in their research efforts but also by providing routine vaccination to countries affected. The Australian government have high hopes that our contribution will greatly assist the WHO efforts as, after its implementation in 2013, the initiative saw all cases of poliomyelitis caused by a wild virus to be due to a single zero type, type 1, seeing death to polio caused by type 2 or 3.

Although substantial advancements have been made in the efforts to virus eradication, health systems have been weakened by factors such as conflict and of failing to deliver routine immunisation exposing unimmunised children to the virus. The World Health Organization has declared polio a public health emergency of international concern. The Australian government is therefore responding promptly and effectively as possible, working alongside the WHO and Rotary International to further the proud history of support for polio eradication shown by the Australian government. Rotary International's involvement in the polio eradication campaign began when Australia played a crucial role in the efforts to eradicate smallpox, with the efforts of Australia's Frank Fenner, a world leader in that campaign, which in turn inspired another Australian, Sir Clem Renouf, then president of Rotary International, to cooperate with another rotarian, Dr John Sever, Head of Infectious Diseases at the National Institute of Health in Washington DC. They teamed up to attack polio. At the time, the polio virus was crippling 1,000 people per day, but immunisation could be achieved by just two drops of the vaccine at a cost of just 10c each. Sir Clem's initial effort in 1979 saw more than six million children vaccinated in the Philippines. Since then the world has made tremendous progress and Rotary's efforts have been crucial to this success. If you visit the polio eradication website, you will see there is an interactive world map showing the progress of the polio eradication campaign from the 1980s until now.

It is encouraging to see how much progress has been made. According to Rotary International, 99 per cent of the world is polio free. However, the fight is far from over and we need to finish the job. The $100 million announced by foreign minister, Julie Bishop, is a vital step in ensuring that polio eradication remains high on the world agenda and leads to the eventual total global eradication of the polio virus.

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