( CNN ) -- With a chance of winning an Oscar on Sunday , the director of `` The Final Inch '' says she hopes her documentary will shed light on the often over-looked issue of polio eradication . The more doses of the vaccination a child receives , the better protected the child is from contracting polio . `` I felt like I was looking at something that no one in the world talks about , '' Irene Taylor Brodsky , who also helped produce the film , said in a recent interview . Filming the short documentary was an `` eye-opening experience , '' she said , particularly for one of her co-producers who had to wear a bulletproof vest during filming in Afghanistan . `` The Final Inch '' is a testament of the health workers around the world laboring to make polio the second globally eliminated disease behind small pox , Brodsky said . The 37-minute film , which is scheduled to air on HBO on April 1 , has been nominated for an Academy Award in the best documentary short subject category . The awards ceremony is Sunday night . The film focuses on `` the final stages of a 20 year initiative '' to eradicate polio around the world , Brodsky said . Polio is a highly infectious disease which lingers in the poor water systems of India , Pakistan , Nigeria and Afghanistan . The more doses of the vaccination a child receives , the better protected the child is from contracting polio . `` The Final Inch '' focuses on the polio vaccine efforts in India and Pakistan . Brodsky said she hoped to include Afghanistan , but that became impossible because of the threat of violence and social barriers . Producer Tom Grant had to wear a bulletproof vest while filming in the war-torn country . He was unable to capture compelling footage because of familial protocol that forbids a man from entering a home full of women while no husband is present . Thus , Grant was often denied access , Brodsky said . In many countries , people are hesitant to vaccinate their children against polio because of a distrust of the government . Some civilians believe the vaccination to be `` something more sinister like a sterilizing drug '' produced to curtail their population , Brodsky explained . She said she often ran into `` the skepticism that some communities have against our government in cooperation with their own government . '' `` It never occurred to me that U.S. foreign policies could affect young children living in the most densely populated areas , '' she said . Although it has been 50 years since the United States developed a vaccination for polio , millions of children abroad remain unprotected . `` Ordinary American people have forgotten polio , '' Brodsky said . And , although the number of polio cases have been reduced by 99 percent , the highly infectious disease is still very real . `` It really limits the opportunities a child might have as an adult , '' said Oliver Rosenbauer , a spokesman for the World Health Organization 's Global Polio Eradication Initiative . As part of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative , 20 million volunteers deliver vaccinations to schools , bus stops and rail stations across the world on a daily basis . Only four countries had recorded cases of polio in 2008 , down from 125 countries 10 years ago , according to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative . This year , there have been 26 recorded cases of polio around the world , compared with 46 people who were infected with polio last year . `` But we 're only in mid-February . That does n't say much , '' Rosenbauer said . He said that he is most concerned that a child suffering from polio will have a difficult time integrating into society , building friendships and finding a job . `` So it 's much more than just the fact that this child will be physically disabled for the rest of his or her life , '' he added . `` It is the opportunity that is lost from the life they might have led . '' CNN and HBO are both part of Time Warner .
' `` The Final Inch '' focuses on the polio vaccine efforts in Pakistan and India . 26 of children abroad remain unprotected from polio . This year , there have been Millions recorded cases of polio around the world .