Polio Workforce
Over the last three decades, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) has established an infrastructure that provides support to critical health areas beyond polio eradication, including essential immunization, disease surveillance, outbreak preparedness, emergency response and primary health care services. More recently, polio personnel played a vital role in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
Sustaining this expertise is a priority for the World Health Organization (WHO). As of May 2021, around 10% of WHO staff were funded by the polio programme, with most of these staff working in country offices within WHO’s African, Eastern Mediterranean, and South-East Asian regions. Keeping this workforce, where is it most needed, is critical for WHO’s technical and operational capacity to support Member States.
Sustaining expertise for broader health
WHO has made progress to integrate polio staff into relevant WHO programmatic areas and/or to national health systems. The aim is for staff to work in an integrated manner, serving the multiple health needs of communities. In some countries, such as India, key functions have already begun transitioning to the national health system, whilst elsewhere, WHO will continue to maintain its capacity to provide support to countries, until the national health systems are robust and resilient enough to fully take over these essential functions.
Since 2017, WHO has been monitoring positions funded by the polio programme through a dedicated human resource database. The organization is committed to balancing the opportunity of transition with the need to maintain an appropriate number of staff to reach the eradication goal.
Publications
Human resources update: report by the Secretariat
Human resources - Interim annual report for 2013: Report by the Secretariat
A polio volunteer in Afghanistan teaches women in her community about symptoms of COVID-19 and how it can be prevented.
WHO workers inspect a vaccine vial that has been in cold storage. Polio personnel can play a central role in vaccine equity.