The Final Inch

This documentary focuses on the ongoing efforts to eradicate polio in India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, so as to eliminate it globally once and for all. Taking viewers into India's impoverished neighbourhoods, The Final Inch, which aired on United States (US) television but is now available on DVD to anyone anywhere, tells the story of the massive, and yet highly personalised, mission to eradicate polio.

It follows some of the 4 million polio workers (in India alone) as they go door to door, and slum to slum, to reach the last unvaccinated children. In the most marginalised Muslim enclaves, children are hidden from vaccinators because US-made medicines are not to be trusted. Others are deliberately kept behind closed doors as a form of social protest by their frustrated communities, whose only political voice might be saying "no" to vaccinations. And then there are the millions of homeless children across India, who get the disease because they cannot be found in time.

In all, The Final Inch explores how the final days of any endeavour are the most challenging. It is meant to be a testament to those working on the front lines of public health in remote areas. Finally, through stories told by the victims, it challenges basic assumptions about disease, poverty, and health as a human right.

A short trailer of the film may be viewed above; to order a copy, send an inquiry email to the-final-inch@google.com