Global and Regional Transition Planning
Many polio eradication activities are carried out at the global level, or across multi-country regions, including coordination, planning, quality assessment, research, data analysis, resource mobilization, and communications.
Some of these activities will need to continue after eradication to ensure coordinated global efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to any polio events or outbreaks, and to prevent disruptions to other global health programmes.
Planning by GPEI partners
Each of the five GPEI core partners will be affected by the scale down of the programmatic and financial operations of GPEI. WHO, UNICEF, Rotary, CDC, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation each have significant polio resources and functions at the regional and global levels. These are being mapped and analysed to identify organisational risks and opportunities related to the scale down, and the agencies are planning for how to address these risks and opportunities.
The role of donors and other stakeholders
Donors and other stakeholders, such as civil society organisations and public health organisations, are closely involved in the transition planning process. Stakeholders at the local, national, regional and global levels can play an important role through advocating to governments and partners, contributing to transition discussions, and supporting the transition of polio assets and infrastructure to other health and development initiatives.
Key activities for participation include:
- Advocating to national and state governments and development partners to prioritise transition planning, highlighting the broader benefits of the polio assets
- Contributing to transition planning discussions at the global, country, and community levels
- Providing funding or in-kind resources in countries to support the transition of essential functions
- Championing transition planning efforts in the broader global development community
- Participating in dialogue on sustainable financing to implement transition plans
- Facilitating or convening global and national discussion among development agencies, foundations and institutions on the current impact of polio-funded assets on other areas in health and development
Other health programmes that rely on GPEI assets have a major role in successful transition, and are closely engaged in the transition planning process by:
- Plan for transitioning, in collaboration with national governments, GPEI, and other key stakeholders
- Working with the Polio Transition Programme at WHO to establish which activities and assets can be integrated into their programmes, and managing this integration successfully
- Advocating for sustainable funding mechanisms to ensure that assets can be sustained in the long term.
