Shortly after celebrating its 2-year anniversary of being polio-free, Nigeria was distraught by two children paralyzed by the disease reported on the 11th of August. “This is an important reminder that the world cannot afford to be complacent as we are on the brink of polio eradication – we will only be done when the entire world has been certified polio-free,” said Director of polio eradication at WHO Headquarters, Dr. Michel Zaffran.
In the early 20th century, before an effective polio vaccine was developed, every year around half a million people died or became paralyzed from contracting the poliovirus.Since 1988, after the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative global incidence of polio has decreased by 99% (from approximately 350,000 estimated in 1988 to 74 reported in 2015).
Combating the last 1 % of polio cases
Despite the colossal effort of health professionals and volunteers reaching some of the most remote populations in order to immunize children from the poliovirus, the remaining 1% of polio cases has proven to be difficult to combat. Conflict, political instability, moving and hard-to-reach populations, and limited resources continue to stand in the way of completely eradicating the disease. The two cases in Nigeria announced on the 11th of August particularly highlight the need to remain vigilant and prioritize immunization in remote populations.
2016 has seen only 21 wild polio cases with only two countries, other than Nigeria reporting – Afghanistan and Pakistan. But as long as a single child remains infected - children all over the world are at risk.
Seminar 2nd of September
If this topic interests you, the Centre for Global Health at the University of Oslo and the Global Health Centre at the Graduate Institute are holding a policy dialogue in Oslo on the 2nd of September. The meeting is open to the public and we invite representatives of the government, international organisations, civil society, think tanks and private sector to join the discussion. Please register on our webpage due to limited number of seats and serving of lunch: www.uio.no/polio