The years 2011, 2012, and 2013 witnessed both reverses and significant developments in global campaign against removal of polio worldwide. In the brighter side of things, initial days of 2012 marked a complete year since India had last detected a case of wild poliovirus. On the negative side, polio continued to be endemic in three nations— Nigeria, and Pakistan, Afghanistan —and in those states, the aim of eliminating polio seemed more ambitious than ever.
Between January 2013 and December 2012, sixteen polio workers were killed in Pakistan, and in February 2013, nine girls vaccinating children against polio in Kano, Nigeria, were shot dead by gunmen. Additionally, in 2011, the number of instances in Nigeria rallied after a 95 percent drop in polio cases in 2010. Realizing that polio was not likely to removed in these states in the near term, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative transferred its target date for eradication from 2013 to 2018.
These setbacks ignited a discussion about suitable strategy for worldwide eradication of polio. Indeed, some experts considered that recent drawbacks were not due to poor direction, but were rather caused by preconditions and epidemiological attribute, which may render polio eradication unachievable.
This case recounts the successful effort to eradicate smallpox and presents a summary of polio and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
The case enables a rich discussion of the present international strategy to eradicate polio, along with the dilemma of whether eradication is the appropriate global public health aim. More usually, the case provides a real example of a specific type of global public good, namely infectious disease eradication.
Learning Objective: After examining and discussing the case, pupils will be able to:
Employ game theory to assessing which nations would be likely finance the campaigns related to complete removal of polio on a global scale
What role do privately owned companies play in the supply of global public goods
Publication Date: 04/08/2011
This is just an excerpt. This case is about Finance
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