In 1999, we began meeting in Branson, Missouri for a weekend of information and entertainment in 1999. I set off with my friend Jan Jacobsen for our 25th gathering. It was bittersweet, as we knew it would be our last one.

Honorine Mollard Billard, Polio Eradication Officer at WHO, speaks to the GPEI about critical country support to vaccination campaigns in Lao PDR, why it is important for polio-free countries to maintain high immunity, and the additional health interventions offered to communities during a polio campaign.