Lessons Learned and Legacy of the Stop Transmission of Polio Program

In 1988, the by the World Health Assembly established the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, which consisted of a partnership among the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the United Nations Children’s Fund. By 2016, the annual incidence of polio had decreased by >99.9%, compared with 1988, and at the time of writing, only 3 countries in which wild poliovirus circulation has never been interrupted remain: Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan. A key strategy for polio eradication has been the development of a skilled and deployable workforce to implement eradication activities across the globe. In 1999, the Stop Transmission of Polio (STOP) program was developed and initiated by the CDC, in collaboration with the WHO, to train and mobilize additional human resources to provide technical assistance to polio-endemic countries. STOP has also informed the development of other public health workforce capacity to support polio eradication efforts, including national STOP programs. In addition, the program has diversified to address measles and rubella elimination, data management and quality, and strengthening routine immunization programs. This article describes the STOP program and how it has contributed to polio eradication by building global public health workforce capacity.