The "WHO/UNICEF Strategic plan for polio outbreak response in the Middle East" outlines the specific actions that will need to be implemented across the Syrian Arab Republic, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Egypt and the West Bank and Gaza Strip in response to the circulation of wild poliovirus (WPV) following importation. Successful implementation of all activities will meet the stated objective of the plan: to stop this outbreak by the end of March 2014.
New innovations and outbreak response guidelines form the backbone of this plan, based on lessons learnt over the past 10 years and capitalizing on new tools and tactics proven to more rapidly stop outbreaks following reinfection. The plan was jointly finalized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in collaboration with ministries of health and other humanitarian aid and United Nations (UN) partners.