For Release: December 23, 2009
Contact:
David Corriveau, Media Relations Officer, Dartmouth Medical School, at David.A.Corriveau@Dartmouth.edu or 603-653-0771
World Health Organization Lauds DMS Pediatrician
Peter F. Wright, M.D.
Lebanon, N.H.—Dartmouth Medical School pediatrician Peter F. Wright, M.D., recently completed an evaluation, for the World Health Organization (WHO), of efforts to eradicate polio in India.
Wright, a DMS professor of pediatrics and a 1965 graduate of DMS with more than four decades of experience in international health programs, led a team that included Dartmouth colleague John Modlin, M.D. They focused their analysis in the north-central states of Uttar Pradesh (population 187 million, with 38 million children ages five and younger) and Bihar (101 million people, 21 million younger than five), where good sanitation is hard to come by for many, particularly those who periodically must flee flood-prone areas.
"Reaching high numbers of mobile populations and geographically inaccessible areas, and sustaining the morale and intensity of the program are ... key program challenges," Wright's team said in its report. "If eradication of polio is shown to depend on improvement of the environment of these young children, the message will have to be broadened to include safe water, breastfeeding and hygienic measures."
In a letter of appreciation to Wright, WHO director-general Margaret Chen wrote, "The fresh perspectives that the Evaluation Team has been able to bring to effectively managing the remaining barriers to interruption of poliovirus transmission are critical. Your recommendations will be an important element of discussions on polio eradication at January's (WHO) Executive Board meeting, and are also feeding into a broader consultative process that will help guide the future strategic direction of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative."
Wright, a former Vanderbilt professor who lives in Norwich, Vt., also serves on WHO's Polio Research Committee and on the Taskforce for the Global Health Polio Antiviral Group. His international projects over the years have included establishing a pediatric-vaccine clinic in Haiti that provided comprehensive care to children ages five and younger. He also has helped to train Haitian physicians and collaborated on HIV research.