We are so close to eradicating polio – the UK cannot afford to let progress slip
By its nature, Polio spreads easily across national borders. It travels quietly, often undetected, through communities and across continents. A lapse in vaccination coverage, a delay in surveillance, or a disruption to health systems can allow the virus to regain a foothold, and from there, it can spread with alarming speed, particularly in under-immunised communities. This makes polio not just a local or national issue, but an international one requiring sustained global coordination and solidarity.
Crucially, the world is currently in what is often described as the “endgame” of polio eradication. After decades of coordinated international aid efforts, cases have fallen dramatically, by about 99 per cent. This is being achieved by hundreds of millions of children being vaccinated each year, many by the most fragile and under-resourced healthcare systems in the world. This is an epic achievement, and we are tantalisingly close to ending polio once and for all. Yet this final stretch is also the most fragile. As case numbers drop, the systems designed to detect and respond to outbreaks may falter or be scaled back, whilst memories of lived experience with the disease fade and complacency begins to creep in. It is precisely at this moment, when success feels within our grasp, that the risk of setback is greatest.
This is why the UK government’s recent decision to entirely cut their funding for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) – just as a case of polio was detected in London’s wastewater – is so dangerous. The UK has historically been one of the initiative’s largest government supporters, alongside the United States and other G7 nations.
The GPEI already has a significant funding shortfall, with an estimated $400 million gap threatening eradication efforts. The UK’s decision to withdraw funding from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative reverses the course we have set: rather than helping close the gap, it risks widening it. This does not just create a setback for global polio eradication efforts; it also sends precisely the wrong signal to the world about the value we place on this crucial effort for the health of others and health security for all, and the leadership role the UK sees for itself on this international stage.
For the UK, this has direct consequences. As long as polio exists anywhere in the world, reintroduction remains possible here. A polio incident in London in 2022 demonstrated exactly how this can happen, with the virus spreading among under-immunised communities. It also showed how costly and complex the response can be. Containing local transmission in London required a significant, resource-intensive intervention which involved enhanced surveillance and targeted vaccination campaigns to prevent further spread.
Reducing support for global eradication will be another setback. Ongoing circulation and increased outbreaks abroad mean continued opportunities for the virus to reach the UK, particularly among populations with lower vaccination uptake. In this sense, cutting funding to polio and so many other international health priorities – especially pandemic preparedness and the healthcare systems of low-income high disease-burden nations – does not save money in the long term; it shifts the burden but accumulates the risk of costly domestic responses.
Polio’s reappearance should serve as a wake-up call. It reminds us that progress is fragile, that diseases can return, and that our health security is deeply interconnected with that of the rest of the world. The finish line is in sight, but reaching it will require renewed commitment, not retreat.
Timothy Hallett is professor of global health in the School of Public Health at Imperial College London
This article has been produced as part of The Independent’s Rethinking Global Aid project
