Snapshot 2: eradicating polio

This second snapshot provides information on how the UN fights global disease. The emphasis is on polio, which the world community has almost eradicated.

This snapshot consists of two short videos:

• Video 1: Christian discusses the UN’s efforts to fight global disease; please click on the image above to view.

• Video 2: polio vaccination in Lebanon describes how UN agencies administer polio vaccines in refugee camps in Lebanon and illustrates points made by Christian in video 1. It highlights the UN’s attempts to prevent the resurgence of polio in war-torn societies, and suggests that while the world organisation has been unable to stop the Syrian civil war, it may perhaps contribute to containing some of its indirect risks. Please note, this video uses Flash and so will not play on iPad or iPhone.

Further information

The figures on infant mortality referred to by Christian at the beginning of the first video come from this UN report.

The Millenium Development Goal website illustrates the breadth of the United Nations ‘MDG’ initiative and highlights success stories and failures. A range of UN-sponsored videos (including this introductory one) provide accessible information about the essentials.

Success in fighting polio