Gates Package — page 550

is also using high-resolution satellite images to create even more detailed maps. And since the new maps show the true distances between settlements, managers can now allocate vaccinators efficiently by giving them a full day's work but no more. Another problem was that some teams were simply not going to the places they were assigned to go. To help address this, the program is piloting the use of phones equipped with a Global Positioning System (GPS) application for the vaccinators to carry. Tracks are downloaded from the phone toa laptop at the end of the day so managers can see the route the vaccinators followed and compare it to the route they were assigned. This helps ensure that areas that were missed can be revisited so children are not left unprotected from polio. The Nigerian government and its partners will need to keep working closely to adjust tools and approaches like these to measure coverage in Northern Nigeria more accurately. But progress is definitely being made, and more children are being reached. The insecurity in Pakistan and Afghanistan represents another challenge for the campaign. In December nine polio vaccinators in Pakistan were murdered. It is unimaginable few MAP OF DuNbuBUS Waab 20 In Nigeria, satellite imagery is being used to improve upon hand-drawn maps, helping health workers reach previously overlooked villages with vaccines. The yellow dots indicate areas visited by vaccinators. to me why health workers, whose only goal was to improve children's health and end polio, were targeted. In my eyes the victims are heroes, and the best way to respect their memory is to finish the job they gave their lives for. The polio program will continue, with additional efforts to improve the safety of workers and to increase the support of community leaders. The global polio community is now finalizing a detailed plan that I believe should allow us to finish the job of polio eradication within the next six years. 'The measurement systems put in place by the eradication initiative will be invaluable for other health care activities, including routine vaccination of infants, which means the legacy of polio eradication will live beyond stopping a disease that once paralyzed over 400,000 children every year. Abhealth worker gives polio drops to a child in Pakistan (Hyderabad, Pakistan, 2012).