Hot Topic: Progress in Polio Eradication
In 1988, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution for the worldwide eradication of polio. It marked the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, spearheaded by national governments, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Rotary International, WHO, and UNICEF, with substantial support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Four regions of the world are certified polio free—the Americas, Europe, South East Asia and the Western Pacific. Only three polio-endemic countries (countries that have never interrupted the transmission of wild poliovirus) remain—Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan. This session will feature two experts on polio eradication who will report on the status of Polio eradication and discuss the remaining challenges.