The Global Poverty Project has launched a new campaign, calling on people to create their own superhero to put pressure on the government to continue its funding for polio vaccinations.

In partnership with the World Health Organisation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Rotary International and Unicef UK, the Global Heroes campaign aims to raise public awareness by encouraging people to use its new platform to create their own superhero avatar and sign a petition urging the UK government to commit the funding needed to vaccinate people against the disease.

In 2008 the UK government committed £20m per year for five years for polio initiatives. 

Stephen Brown, campaigns manager said: “Global Heroes is an innovative user-experience campaign aimed at educating and inspiring the wider public to help bring an end to polio. With the UK’s reaffirmation to commit 0.7 per cent to overseas assistance, and this year marking the UK Presidency of the G8, 2013 provides the ideal political platform to enact real change, and to finally resign polio to the history books. We urge the UK government to make another multi-year commitment to help us finally rid the world of polio.”

In 2012 an extra 29 million children were vaccinated against the disease and since 1988 the number of cases has fallen by 99.9 per cent from 350,000 to 222 last year.

The global coalition of organisations working towards and end to polio will shortly publish a six-year eradication plan and is looking for funding.

(Click the thumbnail at the foot of the page to see the following infographic in full)