XKCD comic for Gates Foundation on World Polio Day

[Recursion]

http://www.gatesnotes.com/Health/XKCD-Marks-the-Spot

I’m a fan of Randall Munroe, the guy behind the Web comic XKCD and the book What If?. I’m also a big supporter of the effort to end polio. So anything that combines Randall and polio eradication is great in my book.

Here's a strip Randall drew for us in honor of World Polio Day. I got a kick out of it and thought I'd share it with you.

[Recursion]

1. So, yeah: we're really, really close

This really can be the next smallpox: a disease entirely eradicated.

We know how to do this:
1. working with locals
2. testing of the symptomatic
3. monitoring sewage output
4. vaccination

Seriously. That actually does it. This is not some mystery disease; this is a disease we understand perfectly well.

All of these take money, however. I won't suggest this or that charity, but the Gates Foundation actually is pretty good about selecting this or that charity.

If you want to end polio, it can really really happen in the next few years. I'm not just making that up. It really can happen. But we have to have the will to make it happen.