Anyone tempted to feel despair at humanity ought to take a moment to reflect on the centenary of Jonas Salk’s birth this week. This American researcher not only discovered a vaccine for polio, a vexing disease that blighted millions of lives, but opted not to patent his discovery so that all of humanity would benefit.
Forbes magazine estimates the vaccine could have earned Dr Salk $7 billion, or Dh26bn. Like the baton in a relay race, his selfless act has been taken up by others and carried further. An ambitious vaccination campaign was launched to rid the world of the scourge of polio forever. The UAE has been prominent in this, earning praise from fellow polio eradication advocate Bill Gates.
Success has twice been tantalisingly close, only to be thwarted by ignorance and dysfunction in Nigeria in the 1980s and now also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. This campaign must continue, to repay the spirit of Dr Salk by eradicating polio forever.
