The Eradication of Polio

Following the end of the Second World War, horrifying violations of human rights carried out by the Nazis were brought to light. Learning of such cruel and inhuman actions towards Jews and others, the UN General Assembly swore to protect every human’s natural rights. Subsequently, the UN implemented The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This document stated that all humans are created equal, therefor have certain rights such as liberty, right to marry, own property, and freedom of religion. The document also demanded that every individual should have the ability to receive medical care, and now this has become one of the major challenges of the 21^st century.

The UN with combined efforts with other world agencies, have had great advances in improving life in many 3^rd world countries. Furthermore they have elevated health opportunities in these countries, as it was seen when due to collaboration of agencies and countries, successfully eradicating chickenpox, and have since then sought out to have the same success with polio. As of 1988 there a reported 125 countries were battling with polio, paralyzing or killing 350,000 people per year. However due to great work by these organizations, excluding for Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria polio has been eliminated in the rest of the world.

The efforts to vaccinate the people in Pakistan and Afghanistan have been hindered by series of attacks carried out by the Taliban, they incorrectly claim that this immunization is a plot to sterilize their people, and have gone to violent measures to stop the immunizations from being given by the organizations. Furthermore negative propaganda by the Taliban has become extremely influential in these areas, due to the fact majority of these people are very illiterate and believe the allegations spread by the Taliban.

World health has become one of the top challenges of the 21^st century, thanks to tremendous advancements in the medical field; the task is far becoming more manageable. Many will argue that America spends too much in foreign aid, but the reality is these countries are in unimaginable conditions, we all live in the same world and deserve the same living standards, these countries due to violence, and oppressing governments have been held back, therefor it is our duty to assist as much as we can. As we have seen with the eradication of smallpox, a great outcome is possible thanks to collaboration of these organizations. Furthermore although these UN organizations continue to deal with complications, there is high assurance the same can be achieved against polio and diseases alike.