The former Health Minister of India and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj released the revised edition of Dr Harsh Vardhan’s 2004 book, A Tale of Two Drops (Ocean Books, New Delhi).
The original edition and its subsequent reprints detailed how the original Pulse Polio campaign in Delhi was conceived by Dr Harsh Vardhan, then the Health Minister of the new state, and carried to its logical conclusion on October 2, 1994.
The new edition comes with the present position in India’s fight against polio. On January 13, there occurred in Howrah, West Bengal, the unfortunate death of a little girl from polio. As per World Health Organization’s rules, a country has got to have zero cases of polio for full three years before being eligible for polio free certification. On January 13, 2011 India is expected to join the proud community of nations which have made polio history.
India, thanks to the Pulse Polio campaign’s sensational success, has already left the group of polio endemic countries. As of today only three countries belong to this group –Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria – but India could well have been part of it had Dr Harsh Vardhan not taken the bold initiative back in 1994.
Dr Harsh Vardhan continues to be paid glowing tributes by the world community of health experts. After all, mankind’s war against polio is the second biggest public health initiative since the eradication of small pox in 1970s. India, because of its huge size and population and diversity of terrain and development status, was considered forbidden ground by WHO’s experts.
This was admitted as recently as 2012 at a “Polio Summit” organized by the Government of India which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. At that event, WHO’s Assistant Director-General for Polio, Dr Bruce Aylward, had recalled how as a young official back on tour to Delhi in the early 1990s, he had been awestruck by Dr Harsh Vardhan’s commitment and energy.
Dr Harsh Vardhan said on the occasion that when the history of polio eradication in India is written, the role of the common man, woman and child –apart from the government officials, doctors and paramedics – will be recalled glowingly.
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