When Multilateralism Works: Success stories of international cooperation, presented in partnership with The United Nations Foundation

The Inside Story of How India Eliminated Polio

The challenge was immense.

About twenty years ago, India accounted for over 60% of all polio cases worldwide — in fact it was considered a “hyper” endemic country. Then, the Indian government teamed up with the United Nations and other partners, including through the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, to tackle polio head on.

India’s vast population, its geographic diversity, and pockets of extreme poverty seriously complicated this effort. But the Indian government and its partners adapted, innovated and above all persisted until they could reach the very last child with the polio vaccine.

In 2014, India was officially declared polio-free. There has not been a single case of wild polio in India in over eight years. Today, only three countries remain polio endemic. And as of October, there were fewer than 20 wild polio cases worldwide in 2018.

The world is now tantalizingly close to the total global eradication of polio, and India’s success in defeating polio within its borders is a big reason why total eradication is within reach

Through interviews and archival material, this special episode of Global Dispatches tells you the story of how, against all odds, India eliminated polio.

This episode is produced in partnership with the the United Nations Foundation as part of a series that examines successes in multilateral cooperation to tackle great global problems.  Previous episodes in this series include how the world closed the hole in the ozone layer, and how the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Liberia successfully completed its work  in 2015. 

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When UN Peacekeeping Works: The Story of the United Nations Mission in Liberia

In this special episode of Global Dispatches Podcast we are bringing you the story of how UN Peacekeepers partnered with the people and government of Liberia to help transform the country from one of the bleakest places on the planet, to one of the more hopeful today.

When peacekeepers were first deployed to Liberia in 2003, the west African country had just experienced a devastating civil war. Fifteen years later, the last Blue Helmets left the country.

Through interviews and archival audio, you will hear from Liberians, UN officials and experts who explain how the UN Mission in Liberia, known as UNMIL, was able to work itself out of a job.

This episode is produced in partnership with the United Nations Foundation as part of the special series that examines success stories of multilateral engagement. When the world works together, powerful and lasting change can take place.

UNMIL is a success of UN Peacekeeping. This episode tells its story.

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The Inside Story of How the World Closed the Hole in the Ozone Layer

The year is 1985. Ronald Regan is president. Margaret Thatcher is prime minister of the United Kingdom. Michael Jackson, White Snake and George Michael are dominating the billboard charts. Back to the Future is a smash hit at the box office.

And scientists have just discovered a giant hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica.

Scientists were warning that if left unchecked, this hole in the ozone would grow ever larger, letting through harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun that would wreak havoc on human health. Skin cancer rates would skyrocket, as would cataracts. In cities like Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. going outside for just a short period of time in the summer would be dangerous. Meanwhile, the basic ecology of the world’s oceans could change, as plankton which makes up the bottom of the food chain, would die off.

But in two years time, before even Universal Pictures released the sequel to Back to the Future the international community had come together to create a binding international treaty that would lead to the healing of the ozone layer.

That agreement is known as the Montreal Protocol. It is widely considered the world’s most successful global environmental treaty.

In this special episode of Global Dispatches podcast, produced in partnership with the United Nations Foundation, we bring you the inside story of how the world came together to create an internationally binding treaty to protect the ozone layer — and ultimately human health.

You will hear from scientists who discovered the link between Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and ozone depletion; key diplomats and government leaders who pressed for the international regulation of CFCs in 1987; and academics and civil society leaders who explain why this 31-year-old agreement is as relevant today as it was the day it was signed.

The Montreal Protocol is a success of multilateral cooperation. This podcast episode tells its story.

Download this episode to listen later. You can subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify

Interviews: 

Nobel Prize winning chemist Mario Molina

Susan Solomon, atmospheric scientist

David Doniger, National Resources Defense Council

Maria Ivanova, University of Massachusetts, Boston

Melinda Kimble, United Nations Foundation

 

Archival Audio: 

Ronald Reagan

Lee Thomas, former EPA Administrator

Mustafa Tolba, former Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program

This episode is part of a series of episodes, called “Wins for the World” in which we tell the story of how multilateral cooperation tangibly benefited people and the planet. Subscribe today!