Published by
The Bangkok Post
The Bangkok Post
Growing up in India, I did not have access to the polio vaccine, and the disease paralysed my legs when I was an infant. As a result, I have undergone many surgeries and cannot walk without leg braces and crutches. My story is not unique. When the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) was established in 1988 (I was ten at the time), the disease paralysed an estimated 350,000 children worldwide each year. Thirty-four years later, immunisation campaigns have almost eliminated polio. But unless we fund a new vaccination push today, we risk a resurgence of the disease. The GPEI — which coordi…