An extensive health network and strong partnerships built over time through Rotary-supported polio eradication efforts help control the spread of several global diseases. In 2014, an Ebola outbreak in Nigeria was stopped when the government health ministry modeled its response after the country’s polio program. Officials recruited health experts in polio to train 150 contact tracers, who then visited thousands of people to check them for symptoms. This prevented an epidemic. For COVID-19, global health responders again depended on lessons they had learned from contact tracing to control polio. This time, more than 50,000 community members in Nigeria who were already trained in looking for symptoms of polio and other diseases are also monitoring for signs of coronavirus and assisting in contact tracing to prevent further spread. Read more about contact tracing here |
