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Polio eradication has created an unprecedented level of partnership.
That momentum has to be kept up and even increased if the ambitious plans for
infectious disease control in the Region are to be realised and fully funded.
As the potential for finding new partners at the global level is reducing, a
specific effort has to be made at the country level.
Meanwhile, as polio eradication approaches, there are lessons to be
learnt from the process for the resource mobilization activities of other
vaccine-preventable diseases. The aim is to involve partners better at the
programme level and to improve the Region’s capacity to develop relevant new
programmes through better resource estimation and management. These
improvements, in the quality and efficiency of programme implementation and
in the provision of a favourable environment, will also help to reduce the
projected funding shortfall. This will be achieved through proper handling of supplies,
contracts, meetings and logistics, and good staffing with qualified human
resources, both through recruitment and internal capacity-building, and
through knowledge transfer.
Improvements in the existing systems and the creation of new ones will
make it easier to
monitor activities and to make appropriate and timely
operational decisions. Better systems will mean better communication of vital
or strategic information between countries, the Regional Office, and WHO
headquarters. Accountability will benefit from a stronger link between the
programmes and the budget and this will also facilitate resource
mobilization.
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