Key points
- The STOP Program recruits and trains international public health consultants and deploys them around the world.
- Consultants strengthen surveillance programs, support supplemental immunization activities, respond to outbreaks, and support polio eradication.
- The program is run by CDC in collaboration with the WHO and UNICEF.
Background
Did you know?
The STOP Program began in 1998 as part of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).
The first STOP team had 25 participants. Since then, STOP has recruited, trained, and deployed thousands of consultants across all six World Health Organization (WHO) regions:
- Africa
- The Americas
- South-East Asia
- Europe
- Eastern Mediterranean
- Western Pacific
In the first years of the program, the primary focus of STOP was to help advance progress toward polio eradication. Early STOP consultants worked to detect and vaccinate against polio.
Though polio eradication is still a key priority for STOP, current STOP consultants also work on other vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs). These include measles, rubella, yellow fever, tetanus, and cholera.
The program is run by CDC in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Why it matters
STOP helps countries protect against VPDs.
In the countries where they work, STOP consultants build local capacity to strengthen immunization systems and VPD surveillance.
In addition to vaccination activities to mitigate and contain VPD outbreaks, key areas of focus include:
- Active and passive surveillance
- Health education and communication
- Immunization policy guidance
- Outbreak response activities
- Data management and analysis
- Community engagement
- Social mobilization
STOP consultants make critical contributions to polio eradication and other VPD elimination and control efforts in countries around the world. At the same time, they have an opportunity to gain international public health leadership experience.
STOP can also be a valuable career advancement opportunity. Many alumni secure positions in global public heath institutions including non-governmental organizations and ministries of health after they complete their assignment.