Address at the “India Celebrates Triumph over Polio” Event

在印度庆祝战胜脊灰活动上的讲话

Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization

世界卫生组织总干事 陈冯富珍博士

New Delhi, India

印度 新德里

11 February 2014

2014年2月11日

His Excellency, the President of India, the honourable Prime Minister of India, honourable Minister of Health and Family Welfare, the President of Rotary International, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

印度总统阁下，尊敬的印度总理，尊敬的卫生和家庭福利部部长，国际扶轮社社长，各位尊敬的来宾，女士们，先生们：

I am most pleased to join others in celebrating India’s triumph over polio. Everyone loves a success story, especially one of this magnitude. India has now gone three consecutive years without a single case of polio.

我非常高兴能够和各位一道庆祝印度战胜脊灰。每个人都喜欢成功的故事，特别是这次的成就规模如此巨大。印度现在已经连续三年未出现一例脊灰。

Confidence in this achievement is supported by a world-class surveillance system and a level of vigilance and preparedness ready to manage any imported case as a public health emergency.

我们对这一成就是有信心的，它得到世界级的监测系统和可以将任何输入病例作为突发公共卫生事件管理的高水平警戒和防范工作的支持。

In fact, the surveillance system in India not only meets all international standards for high-quality performance. It surpasses them.

事实上，印度监测系统的高质量表现不仅符合所有国际标准，还高于国际标准。

After three years, we can say with certainty that the soil of this vast and densely populated country is now free of a virus that killed and crippled children for centuries.

三年过去了，我们可以确定地说，这一国土广阔、人口密集的国家消灭了一种数百年来曾经造成儿童死亡和跛腿的病毒。

Many critics believed that this day would never come, that the polio virus was too firmly entrenched in India, that India would never be polio free. In their view, India had limited means and unlimited challenges.

许多批评人士曾认为这一天将永远也不会到来。他们认为，脊灰病毒在印度的存在十分顽固，印度将永远无法实现无脊灰。他们认为，印度面临无限挑战，而可以利用的手段却很有限。

They could point to the country’s huge population, high birth rate, dense pockets of poverty, poor sanitation, widespread diarrhoea, difficult terrain, and resistance to vaccination among some groups.

他们可以指出，印度人口众多、出生率高、贫困现象普遍、环境卫生差、腹泻病广泛、地形复杂而且有些群体还不愿意接种疫苗。

These were real and daunting challenges, but the doubters missed one decisive factor the power of India’s determination to achieve the impossible, to go from the world’s heaviest burden of polio cases to zero.

这些都是真实存在的艰巨挑战，但怀疑论者忽略了一个决定性因素：印度下决心实现不可能实现的任务，将其在世界上最重的脊灰病例负担减到零；而这种决心拥有巨大的力量。

Viewed against the challenges, India’s achievement is an epic success story, a proof that any country that really wants to can defeat polio.

考虑到这些挑战，印度今天的成就具有划时代意义。它证明任何想要击败脊灰的国家都可以做到。

Government ownership of the eradication initiative, at union, state, and district levels, was decisive, as were the billions of dollars poured into the effort by the government.

印度中央政府、各邦政府和地方政府对消灭脊灰行动的重视和参与以及政府投入的数十亿美元资金发挥了决定性作用。

India worked together seamlessly with its international partners, including Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, and WHO, with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

印度与国际扶轮社、美国疾控中心、联合国儿童基金会和世卫组织等国际伙伴密切合作，并得到了比尔和梅琳达盖茨基金会的支持。

A can-do attitude was another reason for success, as witnessed by the unwavering dedication of millions of front-line workers. Vaccinators and religious leaders I thank you for your service to your own people.

数百万一线工作人员以乐观进取的态度和坚定不移的奉献精神开展工作，是印度取得成功的另一原因。我感谢你们为同胞所提供的服务。

Let me illustrate the magnitude of this achievement with just a few statistics. In the 1970s, India was home to as many as 200 000 polio cases each year. Each nation-wide polio campaign involved the vaccination of nearly 170 million children by an army of 2.3 million vaccinators.

请允许我用几个数字说明这一成就之巨大。1970年代，印度每年发生20万例脊髓灰质炎。每次全国脊灰防治活动都涉及到为近1.7亿儿童接种疫苗，需动员230万疫苗接种人员。

The reporting of suspected polio cases relied on a network of more than 39 000 health facilities from the public, private, and non-traditional sectors.

疑似脊灰病例的报告需要依赖公共、私营和非传统部门3.9万余家卫生机构形成的网络。

The need to reach every child meant that every nook and cranny of this vast country was criss-crossed by tireless polio workers. It also meant reaching every child in marginalized and migrant populations.

需要为每个儿童接种疫苗，这也就意味着不知疲倦的脊灰工作人员需要走遍这一地域广阔国家的每个角落，还意味着需要为每个边缘化和流动人群中的儿童接种。

India, arguably facing the toughest challenges of any polio-endemic country, met each problem with creativity and innovation. In so doing, this country pioneered key operational and technical strategies as lessons for other countries.

印度可以说是脊灰流行国中面临挑战最严峻的，但印度以创造性和创新迎接每个问题。在这个过程中，印度率先实践了重要的业务和技术战略，可以供其它国家参考。

India quickly took advantage of new technologies and served as a proving ground for their effectiveness. When better systems to support high-quality performance were needed, India built them. With support from the WHO country office, India built its world-class surveillance system. An efficient and reliable network of laboratories was established to support poliovirus testing and the rapid confirmation of cases.

印度迅速利用了新技术，并证明了新技术的有效性。印度建立了支持高质量绩效的更好的制度。在世卫组织驻印度代表处的支持下，印度建立了世界级的监测系统。印度还建立了高效、可靠的实验室网络对脊灰病毒进行监测并快速确诊病例。

Millions and millions of vaccinators were supervised and motivated. India also made very good use of another unique asset its Bollywood film-stars and celebrities.

千百万疫苗接种人员目的明确，其工作受到监督。印度还充分利用了另外一个独特资产：宝莱坞的影星和名人。

As the number of cases dwindled and the polio map began to shrink, independent monitoring of progress was introduced to provide a framework for accountability. Meticulous micro-plans were prepared to guide each and every vaccination team, on each and every day of an immunization campaign, ensuring logistical support down to the last detail.

随着病例数减少和脊灰流行范围收缩，开始对进展情况进行独立监测，形成了问责框架。编写了详细的微型计划在免疫接种工作的每一天指导每个疫苗接种工作队，对后勤支持工作安排到每个细节。

Surveillance and monitoring generated high-quality data. Constant research produced the evidence for the fine-tuning of strategies, another strength of India’s polio programme.

监测和监督带来了高质量的数据。不断研究产生了支持策略微调的证据，这也是印度消灭脊灰规划的优势所在。

Research improved understanding of the dynamics of transmission in different populations and environments, the effectiveness of different vaccines, and the reasons why some children were being missed. When research determined that vaccine efficacy was compromised in children with severe diarrhoea, social mobilization, led by UNICEF and supported by other partners, was used to educate households on diarrhoea prevention.

研究增进了对不同人群和环境下的病毒传播情况、不同疫苗的有效性和一些儿童被遗漏的原因的认识。研究确定疫苗对患有严重腹泻的儿童不那么有效后，联合国儿童基金会牵头在其它伙伴的支持下开展社会动员，教育每个家庭预防腹泻。

Pressure on the poliovirus increased each time a problem was uncovered and solved. In the end, it was the best of human creativity, ingenuity, determination, and perseverance that pushed the poliovirus out of India.

每当我们发现并解决一个问题，对脊灰病毒的压力就增加一分。最终，是人类的创造性、灵活性、决心和坚持将脊灰病毒赶出了印度。

Ladies and gentlemen,

女士们，先生们，

India has shown the world that there is no such thing as impossible. This is likely the greatest lesson, and the greatest inspiration for the rest of the world.

印度向全世界表明，这世上没有不可能。这或许是全世界应该学到的最大经验和最大启示。

India’s leadership in polio eradication is widely appreciated and warmly welcomed, especially among the 194 Member States of WHO. The country has shared its experiences, best practices, lessons learned, and expert staff with the remaining endemic countries.

印度在消灭脊灰方面发挥的领导作用得到广泛赞赏和热情欢迎，特别是在世卫组织194个会员国之间。印度也已经与其余流行国分享了自己的经验、最佳做法、教训和专业的工作人员。

The defeat of polio in India paves the way for certification of the entire South-East Asia region as polio-free, possibly at the end of March. When this happens, nearly 80% of the world’s population will be living in countries that are certified polio-free.

在印度击败脊灰为或许在3月底认证整个东南亚区域无脊灰铺平了道路。届时，全世界人口的近80%将生活在认证无脊灰的国家。

The polio-free status of every country remains under threat as long as poliovirus is still circulating anywhere in the world. We still have some way to go. But India provides the decisive proof that eradication is feasible, technically and operationally.

只要脊灰病毒仍然在世界上某些地方传播，每个国家的无脊灰状态就会受到威胁。我们还有工作要做。但印度坚定地证明了消灭脊灰在技术上和操作上是可行的。

India is fully aware of the need to safeguard its magnificent achievement. Immunization against polio remains high, and emergency preparedness and response plans are in place to respond urgently to any importations.

印度完全明白它需要维护自己的伟大成就。脊灰疫苗接种率仍然很高，突发事件防范和应对计划已经到位，可以紧急应对任何输入病例。

India will continue its role as a global leader as the Polio Endgame is implemented, including through the introduction of inactivated polio vaccine and the stepwise phasing out of oral polio vaccine.

在实施脊灰尾声战略过程中，包括推出灭活脊灰疫苗和口服脊灰疫苗分阶段退出工作中，印度将继续发挥全球领导作用。

Right now, the country is using the legacy of its polio success to intensify routine immunization, with a special emphasis on reaching underserved and marginalized populations. The elimination of measles will likely be the next permanent improvement for the health of India’s people.

现在，印度正利用其消灭脊灰成就的遗产加强常规免疫，其中特别强调为缺医少药和边缘化人群提供服务。消除麻疹很可能是印度人民所享受到的下一项永久性卫生成果。

The 13 January news that India had now gone 3 years without a polio case made headlines around the world. This is a monumental achievement that fully deserves today’s celebration.

1月13日，印度已经实现三年未出现脊灰病例的新闻成了世界各地的头条。这一里程碑式的成就完全当得起今天的盛大庆祝。

Thank you.

谢谢。

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