Paul Martin was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada.

Last Wednesday marked World Polio Day, an opportunity for the global community to reflect on where we stand against polio. We have much to be proud of. Today, we’re closer than ever to reaching the historic goal of polio eradication – but there’s still more work to be done.

Like my father before me I contracted polio when I was very young. I was lucky enough to fully recover, but I will never forget the polio ward and my fear as I slowly became aware of what could happen to those of us who found ourselves there.

In 1988, when the polio eradication movement truly came together with the founding of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, there were 350,000 cases in more than 125 countries every year. So far this year, we’ve seen just 171 cases, and only Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria have never stopped transmission. India, which was always thought to be the hardest place to eliminate polio, made an enormous political and financial investment in its program and hasn’t seen a case in almost two years.

Claire Panosian Dunavan is a professor of medicine and infectious diseases at the University of California, Los Angeles, a former president of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, and a co-author of the Institute of Medicine’s 2005 “Healers Abroad” report. Her columns and articles have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Washington Post, Scientific American and Discover magazine, among others. 

LOS ANGELES — Massachusetts Senator John Kerry may head the US State Department next year, but his daughter Vanessa has already launched a new era of global health realpolitik.

Dr. Vanessa Kerry visited California on October 15 and 16 and spoke to medical students, trainees and faculty at USC and UCLA about a new public-private partnership designed to boost the education of doctors and nurses in sub-Saharan Africa.