‘A momentous milestone’: Africa declared free of wild poliovirus
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Africa is officially free of wild polio.
The independent Africa Regional Certification Commission (ARCC) for Polio Eradication announced Tuesday that the continent has eradicated wild poliovirus — the second virus eradicated from the continent after smallpox over 40 years ago.
“Today is a historic day for Africa,” Rose Gana Fomban Leke, PhD, ARCC chairperson, said in a statement.
Africa has gone 4 years without a case of wild polio, meeting the certification criteria for eradication, Leke said. The last case of wild poliovirus in Africa was detected in Nigeria in 2016.
The incidence of polio has been reduced by 99.9% since 1988. Tuesday’s announcement means Afghanistan and Pakistan are officially the only remaining countries where wild poliovirus is still endemic. According to the Polio Global Eradication Initiative, as of Aug. 19, the countries have reported a total of 102 cases of wild polio — 65 in Pakistan and 37 in Afghanistan.
In 1996, when polio paralyzed an estimated 75,000 children annually, African leaders committed to eradicate the virus, WHO noted. Since 1996, polio eradication efforts have prevented up to 1.8 million children from lifelong paralysis and saved approximately 180,000 lives, it said.
“This is a momentous milestone for Africa,” Matshidiso Moeti, MD, MPH, WHO Regional Director for Africa, said in a statement. “Now future generations of African children can live free of wild polio. 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.”
“However, we must 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,” Moeti said.
Although the eradication of wild poliovirus from Africa is a major achievement, 16 countries in the region are currently experiencing circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 outbreaks (cVDPV2), which can occur in underimmunized communities, according to WHO.
“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,” Pascal Mkanda, MBBS, coordinator of WHO Polio Eradication Program in the African region, said in a statement. “With the innovations and expertise that the polio program has established, I am confident that we can sustain the gains, post-certification, and eliminate cVDPV2.”
Perspective
Back to TopPaulin Basinga, MD, PhD, MS & Zouera Youssoufou, MBA
This incredible achievement is a testament to the unwavering resolve of African leaders and communities and proves what is possible with strong commitment, partnership and continuous innovation.
It was not an easy journey to reach this wild polio-free milestone. The polio program faced high population movement, conflict, cultural misunderstandings and other access challenges throughout the region, which made it difficult to reach children with polio vaccines. Surmounting these challenges required leadership and cooperation between governments, partners and local and religious leaders. It also required ingenuity on the part of health authorities and vaccinators in order to deliver vaccines to every child, regardless of their situation.
More than 2 years after the last case of wild polio in Nigeria, we witnessed several countries in the Lake Chad basin move quickly together in order to combat an outbreak that threatened the progress of the entire region. The polio program and country governments worked together to set up new systems to reach more children with vaccines and successfully raised immunity levels. Partnerships like these will continue to be key in ending all forms of the poliovirus.
At the Bill & Melinda Gates and Aliko Dangote foundations, our joint partnerships working with donors, governments and dedicated local leaders have played an important role in driving wild polio eradication in Nigeria. We’ve learned from our work in Africa that polio eradication can have broader benefits on the health and well-being of entire communities, and we’re committed to bringing these benefits to all children.
To protect the progress made against wild polio in the African region and to stop circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses, we will need to continue building strong health systems, which requires steadfast political and financial support from country governments, donors and partner organizations. With this commitment, we have no doubt we can beat polio for good.
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