# good news: progress in Africa re polio

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-progress-in-africa-re-polio/727651>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [August 12, 2015, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-progress-in-africa-re-polio/727651 "2015-08-12T13:40:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-progress-in-africa-re-polio/727651/1 "2015-08-12T13:40:12Z")

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Finally some good news.  
As of July 14, there are no reported cases of polio on the entire continent of Africa. That has never happened before and many despaired of it ever happening. But in an impressive focus on the end result and a willingness to do whatever works, progress was made. It is a ways from success, it will take 2 more years of no polio to declare the continent free, but it is progress. It took lots of effort to make this work: Bill Gates made 2 personal trips to NE Nigeria to ask some sultan for his support, vaccines were imported from moslem Indonesia to refute rumors that the vaccine had pork products in it, community health centers were set up to counter the complaint that only the rare polio was targeted when more common problems were rife, “hit and run” vaccination teams were set up to move in to areas where terrorists targeted polio vaccination teams, etc. Lots of things were done, all with the single goal. And it may have worked. Finally, some good news.

> **[A Milestone in Africa: No Polio Cases in a Year (Published 2015)](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/12/health/a-milestone-in-africa-one-year-without-a-case-of-polio.html?hpw&rref=health&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well)**
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> Health experts are quietly celebrating, while remaining on guard for a possible resurgence of a formerly widespread disease.

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**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\
**Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-news-progress-in-africa-re-polio/727651/2 "2015-08-13T03:10:09Z")

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Now, how about those hinterlands of Pakistan (and Afghanistan?) where vaccinations are seen as a Satanic Western Plot, especially after the United States cleverly used faux vaccination teams to track down Osama bin Laden?