Press Release

The End of Polio: Photographs of Sebastião Salgado Opens to Public

Global Health Odyssey at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hosts exhibit: August 27, 2007 - January 4, 2008

• Versión en español

Early in 2001 in Somalia, Brazilian photojournalist Sebastião Salgado began to document the global effort to eradicate the crippling disease poliomyelitis. By the end of the year, he witnessed mass vaccination campaigns against polio in Somalia, Sudan, India, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Pakistan. As a UNICEF Special Representative, he documented vaccine production in France and specialized lab analysis at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where the last strains of wild poliovirus in the world are tracked. His photographs documenting the eradication efforts can be viewed by the public in the Global Health Odyssey on the CDC campus at 1600 Clifton Road on August 27, 2007 through January 4, 2008.

The global effort to eradicate polio has been the largest public health initiative in history. The World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, CDC, and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) are the initiative's spearheading partners. When the initiative launched in 1988, more than 125 countries were polio-endemic, and an estimated 350,000 children were paralyzed by the disease annually – nearly 1,000 each day. As a result of the initiative, only four countries – Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan – remain endemic for polio today. Last year, fewer than 2,000 children were paralyzed by polio worldwide, a reduction of more than 99 percent since 1988.

Sebastião Salgado is an internationally acclaimed photographer who has dedicated himself to chronicling the lives of the world's dispossessed. Trained as an economist in Brazil, he began his photography career in 1973. Among his most well-known projects are Workers: An Archaeology of the Industrial Age (1993), and Migrations (2000). He has frequently collaborated with international humanitarian organizations, including the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Salgado has received numerous awards recognizing his artistry and commitment to people affected by poverty, war, and displacement. Salgado’s The End of Polio has raised thousands of dollars for polio eradication.

The exhibit was developed in 2001 through a sponsorship by WHO, CDC, UNICEF, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and Rotary International. The exhibition has been curated and produced by Pixel Press.

For a preview, see http://www.endofpolio.org.

The End of Polio is presented in Atlanta by Global Health Odyssey, National Center for Health Marketing, Coordinating Center for Health Information and Service, and Global Immunization Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Coordinating Center for Infectious Diseases.

The CDC Foundation acknowledges the generous gift of Mr. Robert A. Yellowlees, CDC Foundation Board Member, in support of the Global Health Odyssey and The End of Polio exhibition in Atlanta.

Exhibit Location

Global Health Odyssey
Tom Harkin Global Communications Center
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road NE at CDC Parkway
Atlanta, Georgia 30333

Admission is free; no reservations required. Driver's license or passport required for entry; vehicle inspection required. For more information: www.cdc.gov/gcc/exhibit.

Exhibit Hours

• Monday – Wednesday - 9 am to 5 pm
• Thursday - 9 am to 7 pm
• Friday - 9 am to 5 pm
• Closed on Federal holidays

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES