A Place At The End Of The Road
There is a place in India where the road simply ends. The last six kilometers leading into town are nothing but thick mud, and during the monsoon season, travelers must walk this final stretch as no jeep can make the journey. Beyond this small town in Bihar lies the flooded plains of the Kosi River, where the only way forward is by boat. Electricity is a luxury that does not reach here, and those needing power must carry their own generators, their steady hum filling the night air. This is Kusheshwar Asthan East, a place so remote that the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF had to establish a satellite office to extend the reach of India’s polio eradication campaign. Without this outpost, the polio vaccine would never reach the 200-plus villages scattered across the floodplain. This kind of extreme access is where documentary photography for NGOs becomes essential—capturing the untold struggles and triumphs of those working tirelessly to bring healthcare to the most isolated communities.
Polio (also known as poliomyelitis) is a highly contagious disease that once devastated entire populations before being virtually eradicated in the Western world in the 20th century. Its most severe outbreaks occurred in the early 1900s until the development of Jonas Salk’s vaccine in 1955. The polio virus spreads through person-to-person contact, primarily via the fecal-oral route, making sanitation and immunization crucial in high-risk regions like Bihar. Capturing these efforts through documentary photography for NGOs not only preserves historical milestones but also raises awareness about the challenges faced by health workers on the ground.
Photography for NGOs – On Assignment for UNICEF in Bihar
The polio eradication campaign is the largest non-military global health initiative in history. In India, its scale is staggering—2.3 million vaccinators and 155,000 supervisors visit 209 million households to immunize 172 million children under five during National Immunization Days (NID). In high-risk areas such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, Sub-National Immunization Days (SNID) occur up to eight times a year, reaching more than 550,000 newborns every month. After 16 years of relentless vaccination efforts led by WHO, UNICEF, and Rotary International, India was finally declared polio-free on February 25, 2011, with the last recorded case on January 13, 2010. It is through documentary photography for NGOs that these remarkable efforts are documented, ensuring that the dedication and perseverance behind such campaigns are never forgotten.
The following images, commissioned by UNICEF, represent the final documentation of India’s polio program. These photographs, exhibited worldwide—including in New York City—are featured in the book Triumph Over Polio. This project serves as a testament to how documentary photography can shed light on critical humanitarian efforts, inspiring continued action toward global health and disease eradication.
Documentary photography for NGOs
Click on this line to see more images of the polio eradication campaign in Bihar from this assignment for UNICEF. I first documented the polio eradication program in India for the World Health Organization in 2004. Some of the color images from that assignment can be viewed HERE.
