[2] During the 1940s and 1950s, epidemics of paralytic poliomyelitis were frequent in the UK, and the charity helped to fund the first British polio vaccine.

[2][5] The World Health Organization's 2002 declaration that Europe is free from polio coincided with the charity's fiftieth anniversary.

[4] Guthrie, the founder, initially sought to raise funds to defeat polio, a condition that affected the lives of many thousands of children including his own daughter Janet.

A major focus has been on pregnancy and conditions affecting babies, with involvement in projects including the rubella vaccine, ultrasound scanning in pregnancy, intrauterine blood typing, folic acid in the prevention of spina bifida, and the diagnosis of retinopathy in premature babies.

Breakthroughs – protecting children from infections by: Breakthroughs – finding the causes of and developing treatments for diseases by: Action Medical Research raises funds through a variety of activities including events, legacies, a trust, weekly lottery, donations, appeals and corporate support.