Twelve years ago, the World Health Organization launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, with 2000 as its target for eliminating the crippling scourge. At that time, an estimated 350,000 new cases of polio emerged each year. Though the incidence of polio has been dropping dramatically, even in this deadline year, 10 new cases crop up daily somewhere within the 30 countries where the disease remains endemic.
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