Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) leads the world's efforts to end polio, bringing together Rotary International, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and many others including in the private sector with a common objective to eradicate polio once and for all;

(b) when GPEI commenced, more than 350,000 cases of polio paralysed and killed children in 125 countries annually;

(c) in 2020, polio was 99 per cent eradicated and wild polio remains in only two countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan, with the entire African continent certified as polio-free on 25 August 2020;

(d) since the onset of COVID-19, the GPEI's extensive resources and infrastructure used to fight polio has been adapted to ensure that COVID-19 does not spread out of control in the developing world;

(e) the work of the Australian Polio Advocacy and Communications Team provides important support for eradication efforts by bringing together Australian advocates including Rotary International Australia, UNICEF Australia, Global Citizen and RESULTS Australia; and

(f) polio eradication efforts have slowed, and the progress made so far is now at risk; and

(2) acknowledges that:

(a) investment in completing polio eradication will benefit future generations of children who will be free of this devastating disease, and other health programs and initiatives will benefit from the knowledge and experience gained through polio eradication;

(b) efforts to eradicate polio have been extremely successful and demonstrate the effectiveness of widely available vaccination programs;

(c) the GPEI's COVID-19 response has been instrumental in ensuring that COVID-19 does not spread out of control in much of the developing world, including in the Pacific;

(d) Australia is a long-term champion of polio eradication along with many other Commonwealth nations including the United Kingdom and Canada; and

(e) the current parliaments of Australia and other countries have the opportunity to be recognised as the elected representatives who ensured that polio was completely eradicated.

I rise in this chamber to note the important work done to date in pursuit of eradicating polio worldwide—a noble goal indeed—and to acknowledge the contributions to this body of work by the Australian Polio Advocacy and Communications Team group and advocates right across Australia, including Rotary International Australia, UNICEF Australia, Global Citizen and Results Australia, as part of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. First and foremost, I thank them for their contributions and commitment to further progressing this field of medicine. Their ongoing work is invaluable in the fight against polio.

As a paediatrician and doctor, I'm passionate about promoting preventive health measures. As the co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of UNICEF group, I'm equally passionate about being a voice for all matters affecting children.

In 2019, I visited Papua New Guinea with Save the Children, as part of a parliamentary tour. Quite frankly, it was shocking to see some of the health events that are occurring in PNG—including outbreaks of polio.

There's so much more work to be done, and we need to work together in a collaborative manner to ensure that children have a good and healthy start to life. Immunisation programs, such as the polio program, are absolutely essential to that. As a young paediatrician, I visited Fairfield Hospital and saw people who had been in iron lungs for 40 years. This is a disease that has been deadly, but, more than that, it's also devastating. Importantly, polio is an easily preventable but life-changing and life-threatening virus causing severe disability. One in 200 polio infections lead to irreversible paralysis, with many more leading to lifelong disability and considerable pain. When I saw brave men and women in iron lungs, unable to move for so many decades, it was heart-rending. Among those paralysed, five to 10 per cent die when their breathing muscles become immobilised. Worse still, polio mainly affects young children under five years of age. For centuries, it was the scourge of young children until a polio vaccine became available.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is a global effort to eradicate polio. When it commenced in 1988, more than 350,000 cases of polio paralysed and killed children in 125 countries annually. Now polio is 99 per cent eradicated and remains in only two countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan, with the entire African continent certified as polio free on 25 August 2020, last year. That is a massive achievement and is to do with the good work of the men and women who support these sorts of initiatives globally.

The reintroduction of increased polio infections in Pakistan and Afghanistan occurred due to low community immunisation rates. That's what happens when immunisation rates fall—so does herd community, and then everyone in the community is at risk. The government recognise the COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching impacts on the polio vaccination program, but thankfully not here in Australia. We have very high and good immunisation rates, but, due to the pandemic, polio eradication efforts have slowed and the progress made so far is now at risk. With this in mind, we support the GPEI and its partners to re-establish momentum on polio immunisation in the remaining endemic countries.

The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine provides an opportunity to accelerate and progress multiple health outcomes on a global scale. The widespread success of the polio program demonstrates the extreme effectiveness of a widely available vaccination program, and today is the first day that the COVID vaccine is being rolled out here in Australia. As Australians, on both sides of the parliament, we should all be very proud of this momentous day.

The polio program, to the credit of health organisations, has proven the benefits a million times over. I'm very proud our federal government has committed funding and support to the global eradication of polio. The Morrison government has pledged $69 million in funding to the GPEI to support eradication and manage the risk of polio. Respective polio champion and polio gender champion—the Minister for Health and the Minister for Women, Greg Hunt and Marise Payne—continue to support the GPEI both within Australia and internationally through a range of measures. We should congratulate the work that is being done by Australia to support this program.

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