Polio eradication is a priority of the UN: Here’s how India beat it

India and the entire WHO South-East Asia Region were officially declared as being polio-free on March 27, 2014.

By: Longjam Dineshwori | | Updated: February 20, 2020 1:07 pm

The WHO in 2014 certified India as having officially eliminated the disease. © Shutterstock

Polio is one of the few diseases that can be eradicatd in the next few years. This is a priority of the United Nations, said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Also Read - Poliovirus type 3 wiped out globally, announces WHO

António Guterres on Wednesday visited a kindergarten school in Lahore, Pakistan during the country’s first nationwide polio campaign of the year. The Pakistan government is targeting to vaccinate more than 39 million children across the country during the February campaign. Also Read - Government postpones polio immunization programme

It’s been almost 6 years since India was officially declared polio-free. Here’s how India managed to defeat polio. Also Read - After contaminate Polio II virus was found in stools of children, WHO and UNICEF issue statement

How India fought polio

India and the entire WHO South-East Asia Region officially became polio-free on March 27, 2014. India reported the last case of wild poliovirus on Jan. 13, 2011.

After three years without any new wild poliovirus cases, the WHO in 2014 certified India as a polio-free nation.

As India is the second most populated country in the world, the country’s achievement is regarded as a breakthrough in the fight to eradicate polio globally. Some years ago, India accounted for almost 70% of all polio cases worldwide. In 2009, India reported 741 polio cases. This is more than any other country in the world, as per the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

The country faced many challenges in eradicating polio, given its vast population, poor sanitation, widespread diarrhoea, and inaccessible terrain. Additionally, reluctance of a section of the population to accept the polio vaccine. But despite all these challenges polio was tackled head-on- thanks to a singular commitment of the Indian Government, partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, notably WHO, Rotary International and UNICEF.

Where wild polio persists today?

If India can do it, other countries can do it too – believes Oliver Rosenbauer, communications officer at the World Health Organization (WHO) and spokesperson for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).

At present, wild polio persists in only three countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria. No wild polio case has been reported in Nigeria since 2016. This is another achievement in global polio eradication efforts, and soon Nigeria along with the WHO Africa Region, could be declared officially as polio-free.

According to Rosenbauer, one of the main challenges that Afghanistan and Pakistan are experiencing is population movement. He believes that as India had to confront the same obstacle, strategies used in India can now serve as a road map to address the issue, while adapting them to local contexts in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Published : February 20, 2020 1:06 pm | Updated:February 20, 2020 1:07 pm

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