Google.org extends its heartfelt congratulations to Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant on their first Oscar nomination in the category of Best Documentary (Short Film) for The Final Inch, a film produced with support from and in collaboration with Google.org. In speaking with Irene this morning, she said, "This is a great day as more people will see that polio hasn't yet been eradicated, and is still a disease affecting the world's poor. This is a story needing to be told, and now more people will see the film."
Indeed, this is a great day for polio eradication, and we salute Gates Foundation, Rotary International and the governments of the UK and Germany who yesterday announced $630M for polio eradication. Polio continues to afflict mostly children under age 3 in the poorest regions of just a few countries. We hope that our film, which will air nationally on HBO in the coming months, energizes the group of dedicated donors and health workers to bring this eradication campaign past the final inch.
Update on 2/19 @ 3pm: UNICEF issues press release about The Final Inch that effectively outlines the state of the eradication effort in India.