Leaders in Geneva called for immediate action to eliminate polio

Leading public health officials from across the world gathered in Geneva for the World Health Assembly and urged immediate action to eliminate polio for good.

Even though there is still time to take action, the World Health Assembly delegate determined that this “window of opportunity” will not last eternally and that the poliovirus must be eradicated.

Several recent alarming events led to their request, including new cases confirmed in Pakistan, the first south-eastern African cases recorded for fifteen months, and polio’s resurgence in Ukraine and Israel.

Efforts to reduce the circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPVs) have had a significant effect on the worldwide epidemiology of poliovirus, with only Pakistan and Afghanistan remaining endemic, according to a news statement from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative on Monday.

The Strategic Action Plan for Polio Transition has taken steps to protect the legacy of polio eradication systems and know-how, it claims.

While addressing the Assembly, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed his concern over “worrying trends” in recent months. ‘This is a tragedy for the children and their families,’ says the author. As a matter of fact, this is anticipated in the closing phases of an eradication campaign.

It is possible that we can put an end to wild poliovirus transmission this year.

“We must also react to cVDPV outbreaks more quickly and effectively in order to stop all transmission by the end of 2023,” he stated.

High-level officials from 20 nations afflicted by both WPV1 and cVDPV met with top GPEI leaders for intensive talks on how to end the last chains of viral transmission. Dr Chris Elias, head of the Polio Oversight Board at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Dr Matshidiso Rebecca Moeti and Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, respective WHO AFRO and EMRO Regional Directors, presided over the sessions.

Inter-country coordination and teamwork, as well as the significance of zero-dose children reaching their destinations, were among the most important considerations.

“It is vital that you reach every single kid and that you react to vaccine-derived strains with the same haste as you would to a wild strain,” said Dr Tedros in a clear challenge addressed to the Assembly.

It is critical that nations that have eradicated polio step up their efforts to use their polio assets and infrastructure in order to establish more resilient health systems. Dr Tedros said that “please help us grab the opportunity to seek funds for eradication and transition from partners and donors”.