Congressman Cohen Introduces Resolution Commending Polio-Eradication Efforts
As a polio survivor, he urges continued vigilance and federal support
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today introduced a Congressional resolution commending efforts to eradicate the wild poliovirus. As a child, Congressman Cohen contracted the disease which still affects his daily life.
“Since I contracted polio as a five year old, we have come a long way on protecting people from polio through global vaccination efforts,” said Congressman Cohen. “It is critical that we continue these programs to eradicate the virus from the earth because the existence of polio anywhere creates a risk for an outbreak everywhere.”
The resolution notes that there were 60,000 children in the United States with polio in 1952 alone and that, by 1979, polio had been eliminated in this country.
It also credits the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) — a unique public-private partnership that includes the federal government, Rotary International, the United Nations Children’s Fund (commonly known as ‘‘UNICEF’’), the Gates Foundation, and GAVI -- with eliminating the disease in all but Pakistan and Afghanistan.
And it resolves that the House of Representatives supports the goals of the GPEI and encourages the federal government to continue funding for it.
See the text of the resolution here.
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