The World Health Organization (WHO) Independent Africa Regional Certification Commission (ARCC) for Polio Eradication has officially declared Nigeria and the African Region free of wild poliovirus.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this marks the eradication of the second virus from the face of the continent since smallpox 40 years ago.
The last case of wild poliovirus in the region was detected in 2016 in Nigeria and since 1996, polio eradication efforts have prevented up to 1.8 million children from crippling life-long paralysis and saved approximately 180 000 lives.
In a statement made available to newsmen, ARCC Chairperson Prof. Rose Gana Fomban Leke who described the feat a historic, said that Africa has successfully met the certification criteria for wild polio eradication, with no cases of the wild poliovirus reported in the Region for four years,”
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She said, “Today is a historic day for Africa. The African Regional Certification Commission for Polio eradication (ARCC) is pleased to announce that the Region has successfully met the certification criteria for wild polio eradication, with no cases of the wild poliovirus reported in the Region for four years.”
According to her, “The ARCC’s decision comes after an exhaustive, decades-long process of documentation and analysis of polio surveillance, immunization and laboratory capacity of the region’s 47 member states, which included conducting field verification visits to each country.”
In 1996, African Heads of State committed to eradicating polio during the Thirty-Second Ordinary Session of the Organization of African Unity in Yaoundé, Cameroon. At the time, polio was paralysing an estimated 75,000 children, annually, on the African continent.
In the same year, Nelson Mandela with the support of Rotary International jumpstarted Africa’s commitment to polio eradication with the launch of the Kick Polio Out of Africa campaign. Mandela’s call mobilized African nations and leaders across the continent to step up their efforts to reach every child with the polio vaccine.
On her part, WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, described the attainment of a Polio free status as a momentous milestone for Africa adding that the future generations of African children can now live free of wild polio,”.
Moeti noted that the expertise gained from polio eradication will continue to assist the African region in tackling COVID-19 and other health problems that have plagued the continent for so many years and ultimately move the continent toward universal health coverage.
She said, “This historic achievement was only possible thanks to the leadership and commitment of governments, communities, global polio eradication partners and philanthropists. I pay special tribute to the frontline health workers and vaccinators, some of whom lost their lives, for this noble cause.”
Moeti however, stressed the need to stay vigilant and keep up vaccination rates to avert a resurgence of the wild poliovirus and address the continued threat of the vaccine-derived polio adding that while the eradication of wild poliovirus from the WHO African Region is a major achievement, 16 countries in the region are currently experiencing cVDPV2 outbreaks, which can occur in under-immunized communities.
Coordinator of WHO Polio Eradication Programme in the African Region, Dr Pascal Mkanda observed that Africa has demonstrated that despite weak health systems, significant logistical and operational challenges across the continent, African countries have collaborated very effectively in eradicating wild poliovirus.
“With the innovations and expertise that the polio programme has established, I am confident that we can sustain the gains, post-certification, and eliminate cVDPV2,” added Dr Mkanda.
Thanks to the dedication of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, polio cases have reduced by 99.9% since 1988, bringing the world closer than ever before to ending polio. The initiative is a public-private global partnership comprising national governments; WHO; Rotary International; the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; UNICEF; the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; and a broad range of long-term supporters.
