News

07 March 2024

Investments in women: investments in health

7 March 2024 – Women play central, diverse and multifaceted roles in safeguarding children from polio, proving that investments in women’s capacities and skills translate into investments in strengthening health systems. The stories below highlight some ways in which women are breaking barriers, driving change and inching us closer to a polio-free world wherever they take charge – from doorsteps to laboratories to decision-making tables.   Driving regional solidarity for polio eradication Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Hanan Balkhy made history in February 2024 when she became the first woman to take...

05 March 2024

“I don’t want children to be affected by poliovirus like I was”

5 March 2024 – My name is Farid, and I am 35 years old. I live in the Bati Kot district of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. I contracted polio when I was 3 years old. The symptoms started with a fever, then a weakness in my left leg and in my left hand. While strength eventually returned to my hand, my leg remained weak. My parents took me to the doctor. After medical examinations, the doctors said that I had polio and there is no cure. When my parents heard that...

14 February 2024

Sustaining polio investments offers a high return

14 February 2024  – A new investment case shows that successful polio transition in the 8 priority countries of the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region will have a very high return on investment. Economic and social benefits totalling an estimated US$ 289.2 billion arise from sustaining polio assets and integrating them into expanded immunization, surveillance and emergency response programmes in 8 countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region, the study reveals. As the present cost of this work is US$ 7.5 billion, this means that for every dollar spent, the return on investment is...

23 July 2023

Extraordinary chains of coordination to detect poliovirus amidst Sudan’s conflict

23 July 2023 – At the earliest signs of the ongoing conflict in Sudan, in the middle of April, WHO’s country team sprang into action. After all, conflict and infectious diseases are known to be comrades. One of the first tasks they took on was to find ways to detect the possible spread of an outbreak of variant poliovirus that was confirmed in December 2022 after a paralysed child living near the border with Chad tested positive for the virus. Immediately after the start of the conflict, they worked to maintain...

21 June 2023

Contributing to a lasting legacy: the ‘father’ of polio laboratories in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

21 June 2023 – The vast machinery of the global polio eradication programme is much like the inner workings of a clock – a network of interconnected people, organizations and programmes that together are more powerful than the sum of their parts. Collaboration is foundational to eradication, and every eradicator plays a part in edging the programme closer to its goals. But in some cases, individual eradicators develop capacities or practices that enable programmatic leaps. Dr Humayun Asghar is one of those outsize drivers of progress. His initiatives around early laboratory testing of...

21 May 2023

Polio: As of today, the world’s only Public Health Emergency of International Concern

21 May 2023 – In May 2014, the WHO Director-General declared the international spread of poliovirus a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) under the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005), a designation that allows for accelerated response, emergency disbursement of funding and mitigation measures, such as vaccination of international travellers, to reduce the risk of spread of poliovirus. Nine years and several expert-led reviews later, polio retains its PHEIC status. COVID-19 and mpox have joined and recently left the list of diseases with this designation, but poliovirus still poses a risk of international spread. As noted with detections of variant poliovirus around the world in several previously...

22 March 2023

WHO’s polio programme provides vital support to nationwide measles vaccination in Afghanistan

With more than 20 years’ experience on the ground in Afghanistan, WHO’s polio eradication programme continues to leverage its extensive operational capacity to deliver better health outcomes for all Afghans, including providing vital support to the recent nationwide measles vaccination campaign. Measles outbreaks were reported across Afghanistan throughout 2022, with more than 5000 cases and an estimated 300 deaths reported by November. Complications from the measles virus include severe diarrhoea and dehydration, pneumonia, ear and eye complications, encephalitis or swelling of the brain, permanent disability and death. Most cases are children...

09 March 2023

Eastern Mediterranean health leaders call for redoubled efforts for a defining year for polio

9 March 2023 – On Tuesday 28 February 2023, ministers and high-level delegates from across the Eastern Mediterranean Region participated in the seventh meeting of the Regional Subcommittee for Polio Eradication and Outbreaks.   The meeting came at a time of contrasts for polio eradication efforts. On the one hand, the Region’s most recent case of wild poliovirus was reported almost 5 months ago, in Pakistan, and the footprint of the virus is the smallest it has ever been. Additionally, efforts to search for polioviruses have never been stronger and the polio programme...

07 March 2023

This is what lab leaders look like: voices of women leading lab innovations to end polio

In the polio eradication programme, women are forces to be reckoned with. From the doorstep to the lab, they play important and integral roles at all levels of the polio programme. We got the perspectives of four women from the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region who tap into digital innovations in WHO-supported laboratories to shape decision-making and spur swift action. Addressing social norms Giza, Egypt, is home to the ancient world-renowned pyramids and a medical marvel of the modern age -- the accredited Polio Regional Reference Laboratory (RRL) at the Egyptian Holding Company...

02 March 2023

Seventh meeting of the Regional Subcommittee for Polio Eradication and Outbreaks28 February 2023 Acknowledging that our common goal is to attain ‘Health for All by All’, which is a call for solidarity and action among all stakeholders;  Noting the progress achieved globally in eradicating wild poliovirus transmission since 1988, with endemic wild poliovirus transmission restricted to just two countries – Afghanistan and Pakistan;  Recalling that 2023 is the target year for interrupting all remaining poliovirus transmission globally, as per the Global Polio Eradication Initiative Strategy 2022–2026: Delivering on a Promise;  Appreciating the recent, intensified...

02 March 2023

Seventh meeting of the Regional Subcommittee for Polio Eradication and Outbreaks  28 February 2023  Acknowledging that our common goal is to attain ‘Health for All by All’, which is a call for solidarity and action among all stakeholders;  Noting the progress achieved globally in eradicating poliovirus transmission since 1988;    Noting with deep concern the challenges involved in stopping ongoing outbreaks of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) in the Region, without full access to vaccinate all vulnerable children in the affected populations;  Observing with alarm the prolonged outbreak in Yemen and the persistent...

16 January 2023

Gearing up to stop polio in Afghanistan and Pakistan

16 January 2023 – In October 2022, the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for Afghanistan and Pakistan met in Muscat, Oman, to conduct a thorough review of ongoing polio eradication efforts in the remaining polio endemic countries. During the 6-day meeting they also provided strategic technical guidance on steering efforts towards successful interruption of the poliovirus in both countries in 2023. Polio programmes make significant progress, despite challenges The TAG recognized the accomplishments of the polio programmes despite longstanding humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and unprecedented levels of flooding across Pakistan that affected almost 33 million...

12 January 2023

Polio-free India: It seemed impossible until it was done

Dr Hamid Jafari, Director of Polio for the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region, reflects on his time eradicating polio in India and what lessons we can take from this to address the final challenges for achieving eradication in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  India’s journey from the world’s epicentre of a highly infectious viral disease to turning polio-free was like walking on eggshells: Every step we took mattered.  On 13 January 2023, India completes 12 polio-free years – a remarkable achievement that was made as a result of consistent, determined efforts and genuine commitment at...

28 December 2022

KHARTOUM, 28 December 2022 – Tomorrow the Federal Ministry of Health in Sudan, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) will launch a catch-up vaccination campaign to vaccinate children against polio and yellow fever from 29 December 2022 to 3 January 2023. This campaign will cover the Darfur states as well as Sennar state in efforts to increase vaccination coverage and further vaccine equity in all parts of Sudan by reaching out to cover the birth cohort who missed their routine polio IPV...

28 December 2022

Cross-border meeting in Sudan promises stronger coordination to prevent polio spread

Like any other infectious or communicable diseases, polioviruses do not recognize international borders. They do, however, recognize and spread effortlessly among young children with low immunity. To prevent any spread of polioviruses in their region, from 21-22 December 2022, Sudan’s Federal Ministry of Health hosted neighbouring Chad and South Sudan for a 2-day meeting in the country’s capital, Khartoum. The WHO country office in Sudan organized the meeting, with support from the WHO offices in Chad and South Sudan, and brought together polio and immunization experts from the ministries of health...

26 December 2022

KHARTOUM, 22 December 2022 – On 16 December 2022, a case of a variant type 2 poliovirus (cVDPV2) was confirmed in a young boy aged four years in West Darfur, Sudan. The virus detected is most closely related to a strain circulating in Borno, Nigeria, in 2021, and is unrelated to the poliovirus variant that affected Sudan in 2020 and which was successfully closed in September 2022. Within 24 hours of the new confirmed case, the Sudan Federal Ministry of Health, with the support of World Health Organization (WHO), the United...

08 December 2022

Getting ahead of the game

Qatar, supported by WHO, ramps up surveillance for polio during the FIFA World Cup 2022 Around the time when the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup tournament was introduced, in 1930, children didn’t have access to polio vaccines. Additionally, systems to search for polio symptoms in children were most likely weak across the world. This scenario has changed now.   To prepare for an estimated 1.2 million football fans congregating in Qatar to watch the World Cup tournament, the Government of Qatar took several measures to mitigate risks associated with the...

25 October 2022

World Polio Day 2022: Stronger together to end polio globally

Polio Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region calls for people at all levels to act to end polio   Amman, 24 October 2022 –On World Polio Day, marked on 24 October across the world, countries around the world are stepping up efforts to end polio. This year’s theme for the day has been ‘Together We End Polio’ and emphasis has been on how polio eradication efforts also play a key role in improving both children’s and mothers’ access to vaccines and other health and nutritional services. At present, only 2 countries worldwide remain with...

13 October 2022

Djibouti launches polio vaccination campaign to raise immunity nationwide

Djibouti, 12 October 2022 – The national polio vaccination campaign, initiated by the Government of Djibouti and carried out by the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with WHO and UNICEF, started on Monday 10 October 2022. It will run for five days, until Friday 14 October 2022. More than 150 000 children under the age of 5 in Djibouti will receive an additional dose of the polio vaccine in this campaign, which follows 2 earlier vaccination rounds, in February and March 2022. The Ministry of Health, through this campaign, aims to protect...

25 September 2022

What it took to close a polio outbreak in Sudan

25 September 2022 – It takes more than a town crier reading off a scroll to close a polio outbreak in any country. Rather, it takes multi-disciplinary teams of experts wading through country-level data from polio eradication programmes – often more than once. They scrutinize evidence, crunch numbers to analyse information, and interview health workers, polio teams and high-level authorities, among other activities, before arriving at a conclusion.   The recent poliovirus outbreak in Sudan  Sudan’s circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV) type 2 outbreak began with the importation of the virus from neighbouring Chad. Confirmed...

21 September 2022

Polio outbreak in Sudan successfully stopped and declared closed

Khartoum, 18 September 2022  Declared in 15 out of 18 states, the outbreak was caused by a circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV2) strain imported from Chad, paralyzing 58 children.  Today’s announcement comes after virtual and in-country reviews of Sudan’s response to the outbreak and its surveillance system by a team of experts in polio eradication, global public health, epidemiology, and vaccine management. The final Outbreak Response Assessment, held between 24 July and 1 August 2022, included interviews and reviews of reports and records with surveillance and immunization staff at state, locality, and health...

19 August 2022

Nomina Akhtar continues to work for polio eradication while battling stage-3 breast cancer

A story of determination, friendship and support 19 August 2022 – In 2021, when the news of cancer hit, Nomina Akhtar felt her world collapsing. It was discovered too late. By the time she knew, it was already stage-3 breast cancer.  Since 2015, Akhtar has been part of Pakistan’s polio programme as a community health worker. During these 6 years, she has found friends and well-wishers among her team members who have given her the support to carry on.  Akhtar, 43 and a mother of 3 continues to work for polio eradication as she...

14 August 2022

Electronic reporting system digitizes reporting for polio certification

36th meeting of the Regional Commission of Certification endorses submission of reports for 2021 14 August 2022 – One of the key markers on the global journey towards eradication of poliovirus is certification, the formal verification of a region as polio-free. Last month, that marker got a digital upgrade. Following the resolution passed at the World Health Assembly in 1988 to eradicate polio, the Global Certification Commission was established to lead the formal process for certifying regions as polio-free. In 1995, WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region established the Regional Commission of Certification (RCC). The RCC...

15 June 2022

Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks holds fifth meeting

Cairo, 14 June 2022 – The fifth meeting of the Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks was convened on 14 June by WHO’s Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari. The meeting comes at a time when Afghanistan and Pakistan, as the last two endemic countries in the world, continue their efforts to stop wild poliovirus transmission, – and several countries in the Region are responding to circulation of vaccine-derived polioviruses. “The continued presence of any circulating poliovirus in any country of the Region has catastrophic consequences for children...

14 June 2022

Statement on stopping the outbreak of vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 in Somalia and concurrent outbreaks of vaccine-derived poliovirus types 1 and 2 in Yemen

Statement by the Eastern Mediterranean Ministerial Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks Fifth Meeting of the Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks 14 June 2022 Noting the progress achieved globally in eradicating poliovirus transmission since 1988; Noting with deep concern the ongoing and expanding outbreaks of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) in the Region, including an outbreak of cVDPV2 in Somalia and concurrent outbreaks of cVDPV1 and cVDPV2 in Yemen; Recognizing the high risk of expansion of the polio outbreaks in these countries due complex emergency settings, limited access to high-risk populations,...

14 June 2022

Statement on stopping wild poliovirus transmission in Afghanistan and Pakistan

Statement by the Eastern Mediterranean Ministerial Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks Fifth Meeting of the Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks 14 June 2022 Noting the progress achieved globally in eradicating wild poliovirus transmission since 1988, with virus transmission restricted to just two countries – Afghanistan and Pakistan; Noting that one case has been reported in Afghanistan and eight in Pakistan since January 2022, and that detection of wild poliovirus cases in both countries so far has been contained within the southern corridor comprising the southeastern part of Afghanistan and southern...

13 May 2022

Palestinian Ministry of Health launches polio vaccination campaign to boost immunity in Bethlehem and Jerusalem

13 May – Ramallah - On Monday 16 May, the Palestinian Ministry of Health will launch round one of a polio vaccination campaign targeting all children under age five in Bethlehem and Jerusalem. The vaccination campaign is scheduled to run over three days: Monday 16 May through Wednesday 18 May 2022. Vaccination, using bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV), is free and will be offered at maternal and child centres and UNRWA centres throughout Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Palestine has been polio-free for more than 25 years, thanks to a robust routine immunization programme...

28 March 2022

Djibouti Ministry of Health launches round two of nationwide polio vaccination campaign

More than 150 000 children under the age of five across Djibouti are targeted to receive a second dose of polio vaccine, following the first supplementary dose given in round one of the campaign in February 2022 Djibouti – 27 March 2022: The second round of the national polio immunization campaign, led by the government through the Ministry of Health in collaboration with UNICEF and WHO, begins Sunday 27 March, running for five days until Thursday 31 March. The campaign aims to reach and immunize more than 150 000 children aged...

08 March 2022

Women leaders in polio eradication: Pariva Hashemi

Pariva Hashemi talks about her journey as part of Islamic Republic of Iran’s national polio programme 8 March 2022 – It was 1991 and Pariva Hashemi had just started working for the health centre of Semnan province in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Her day started at the break of dawn and sometimes ended late into the night. She spent hours travelling in harsh weather and under difficult road conditions to areas that were far from Semnan. And many times, she had to stay longer at the office to report on new...

27 February 2022

Djibouti launches national polio vaccination campaign

Djibouti, 27 February 2022 - Djibouti’s Ministry of Health, with technical support from WHO and UNICEF, today kicked off a five-day national polio vaccination campaign aiming to reach all children in Djibouti aged zero to 59 months, approximately 150,000 children. Multi-disciplinary teams of vaccinators, social mobilizers and technical experts are fanning out across the country to knock on every door, vaccinate every child under five and raise immunity levels to this deadly childhood disease. This is a house-to-house campaign, with vaccination also being offered in health facilities. Djibouti was declared polio-free in...

10 February 2022

Members issue two statements on Yemen and Afghanistan calling for uninterrupted access for vaccinations to all children  Cairo, 10 February 2022 – The fourth meeting of the Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks was convened on Wednesday 9 February, by WHO’s Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari. The meeting was attended by health ministers or their representatives from Djibouti, Egypt, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The Subcommittee declared the ongoing circulation of any strain of poliovirus in the Region...

09 February 2022

Statement by the Eastern Mediterranean Ministerial Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks Delivering on a promise: achieving and sustaining a polio-free Eastern Mediterranean Region Fourth Meeting of the Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks 9 February, 2022 – Noting the progress achieved globally in eradicating poliovirus transmission since 1988;  Noting with deep concern the ongoing and expanding outbreaks of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) in the Region, including a concurrent outbreak of cVDPV1 and cVDPV2 in Yemen; Recognizing the high risk of persistence and expansion of the two polio outbreaks in Yemen in the...

27 January 2022

Pakistan commended for commitment to eradicating polio

As we begin 2022, we have our best opportunity to end polio for good Statement by George Laryea-Adjei and Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari In June last year, we visited Pakistan, one of two countries in which wild poliovirus is still endemic. Together, we returned to the country in November to witness the impressive progress in Pakistan’s polio programme and its no-holds-barred approach to stopping transmission – progress that has brought about our best opportunity yet to end this disease.  In our roles, we deal with a vast array of health and humanitarian challenges, but...

21 December 2021

December polio vaccination begins in Afghanistan

KABUL, 13 December 2021 - The fourth round of a national polio immunization campaign begins this week (13–16 December 2021), and will be synchronized with Pakistan to improve cross-border polio eradication efforts. The campaign targets 9.9 million children aged 0–59 months across the country and is scheduled to start later this month in some parts of the country, including in the south and east, and in the provinces of Paktia and Ghazni in the south-east, Ghor in the west, and Balkh in the north. Read more

13 December 2021

Polio eradication within reach in Pakistan

UNICEF and WHO Regional Directors visit the polio-endemic country as efforts to eradicate polio yield crucial progress ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, 13 December 2021 – UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia, Mr George Laryea-Adjei, and WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, recently concluded a visit to Pakistan to support the polio programme as it closes in on the long-sought goal of eradicating polio. Both Regional Directors said that they continue to be impressed by the high level of government leadership and engagement at all levels – from Prime Minister Imran...

30 November 2021

Sudan expands environmental surveillance sites to enhance detection of polioviruses

30 November 2021 – Until last year, environmental surveillance for polioviruses in Sudan was confined to Khartoum State, the country’s capital. In the context of a circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) outbreak that has paralysed 58 children, collaboration between Sudan’s Federal Ministry of Health, the National Polio Laboratory and WHO colleagues across the Region has expanded the practice from five sites in this one state, to 14 sites in seven states. Environmental surveillance is the practice of testing sewage runoff for the presence of viruses and other pathogens. Depending on...

07 November 2021

“The World Health Organization has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse and takes all allegations of misconduct seriously at all levels of our workforce. I appreciate the swift response by the National Emergency Operations Centre in Pakistan to allegations of harassment of a polio frontline worker.    WHO has an uncompromising commitment to uphold and promote policies that prevent sexual exploitation and abuse and all forms of harassment. The polio eradication programme in particular relies on female frontline workers to carry out the essential work of eradication and ensuring all...

25 October 2021

World Polio Day – Calls for commitment for Pakistan to deliver on a promise for a polio-free world

Islamabad, October 24, 2021 – World Polio Day 2021 was marked by the World Health Organization (WHO) along with all the Global Polio Eradication Initiative partners, led by Rotary International, in all parts of the country with various fundraisers and unique events. This day gave WHO the opportunity to highlight Pakistan’s diligent efforts over the past three years, bringing the wild poliovirus case count to a historic low, and mapping the road ahead.  “The transmission of the wild poliovirus in Pakistan is at its lowest point ever however we are still...

20 October 2021

The polio retirees spending their golden years on the eradication trail

For many of the women and men who spent their careers fighting polio, retirement offers not rest and relaxation, but a continuation of their life’s work towards eradication. Across the Eastern Mediterranean Region, once-and-forever polio fighters are inspiring the next generation of eradicators with their commitment to the cause and belief in the benefits of a polio-free future. Meet some of the Region’s most beloved polio fighters as they look back on their careers and describe their motivation to continue their quest, for as long as it takes. Dr Ali Farah, Somalia Back...

08 July 2021

Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks meets

8 July 2021 – The second meeting of the Regional Subcommittee for Polio Eradication and Outbreaks took place virtually on 1 July 2021, bringing together ministers of health and officials from across the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Convened by Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, the Committee brings together Member States to focus on renewing regional solidarity and commitment to achieve polio eradication.  The spread of polio in the Eastern Mediterranean Region remains designated as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) under the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005)....

22 June 2021

Polio vaccination against the odds in Yemen: dispatches from the frontline of polio eradication

22 June 2021 – In Al-Buraika district, a poor neighbourhood in the port city of Aden in Yemen’s south, Muneera Abdo slowly makes her way through the sandy streets. With a scuffed plastic cool box hanging from a strap on her shoulder, Muneera knocks on the doors of houses often made of little more than discarded strips of tin. Muneera is a polio vaccinator working in some of the most challenging territory on earth. She travels door to door, vaccinating children under 5 and raising awareness about the importance of vaccination...

22 June 2021

22 June 2021 – Female polio frontline workers are playing a key role to eradicate polio in Pakistan. Given their trusted roles and responsibilities, they contribute a lot towards vaccinating millions of children across the country. Pakistan remains one of 2 countries where polio is endemic. With each polio campaign, it is essential that the entire country supports the successful implementation of campaigns which depend on the dedication of staff to reach all children. Health interventions and immunization activities in the country are most effective when delivered by women. During each nationwide polio...

29 March 2021

Somalia: formal closure of the cVDPV3 outbreak

29 March 2021 – Somalia’s outbreak of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 3 (cVDPV3) has been successfully stopped, with no international spread. Dr Hamid Jafari, Director of Polio Eradication for WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region, declared the outbreak closed a full 28 months after this strain of polio was last detected in Somalia.  Seven children were paralysed by the type 3 strain in the 2018 outbreak, and sewage samples regularly monitored for poliovirus tested positive for cVDPV3 a dozen times, beginning March 2018. There is no doubt that the virus circulated widely around southern...

06 January 2021

Looking back on 2020: eradicating polio in a pandemic

There is little doubt that the year 2020 will go down in history as one of transformation. No life was left untouched by the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted everything from international travel and trade to health systems. But it has not deterred the effort to eradicate polio. The Eastern Mediterranean regional polio programme reflects on 2020 as a year of immense challenge and innovation. Over the last 12 months, teams have pivoted to provide vital support to countries responding to COVID-19 while maintaining poliovirus surveillance and have worked diligently to resume...

22 November 2020

Statement on polio from Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari to the 73rd World Health Assembly

When we last convened, it was a very different world. The COVID-19 pandemic was hitting its early stride, and the polio programme in our Region had just stepped forward bravely to meet this new public health challenge, working alongside national health programmes and, in countries with limited or weakened health infrastructure, stepping into the breach. In the intervening months, I observed as the polio programme in some of the most complex countries in this Region – Pakistan, Afghanistan, and others – paused their polio eradication activities and applied their considerable skills...

14 October 2020

Region galvanizes around polio eradication during the 67th Regional Committee

Renewed political commitment drives likely formation of new subcommittee for polio eradication and outbreaks. 14 October 2020 – Yesterday the 67th Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean discussed a resolution on polio, which includes the creation of a new ministerial regional subcommittee to focus on the most critical barriers standing in the way of polio eradication. Following the certification of the African Region as free of wild poliovirus, the Eastern Mediterranean Region is the only region in the world still harbouring wild poliovirus. After a bruising 2019 where we saw wild poliovirus...

06 September 2020

6 September 2020 – The polio programme is responding to 2 new polio outbreaks in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: one in Sudan, and one in Yemen. Both outbreaks are consequences of increasingly low levels of immunity, and each has paralysed children in populations that have been difficult or impossible to reach with routine or supplementary polio vaccination for extended periods of time. In Sudan, the polio programme is responding to paralytic polio caused by vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (VDPV2). The virus has been detected in children in 9 states, as well...

22 July 2020

Confronting outbreaks in Somalia

While the COVID-19 response dominates community health concerns, every missed opportunity for vaccination puts the fragile gains made against polio in Somalia at risk of being undone 22 July 2020 – For Somalis, COVID-19 is the most immediate crisis in a seemingly unending cycle of floods, food insecurity, conflict and outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases like measles, cholera and polio. Against this backdrop, WHO’s polio programme is working to steer the COVID-19 response and, more broadly, maintain vaccine immunity levels and improve access to health care. It’s no easy feat. Dr Mohamed Ali...

20 July 2020

Essential polio vaccination campaigns resume under strict COVID-19 prevention measures

20 July 2020 – Essential polio immunization campaigns are restarting in the Eastern Mediterranean Region this week under strict COVID-19 infection prevention and control measures, following a 4-month pause on all vaccination campaigns, including those to stop ongoing polio outbreaks. Pakistan today kicked off a small-scale polio outbreak response campaign in selected districts, aiming to vaccinate almost 800 000 children under-5 years of age. In line with WHO global guidelines, and guidance developed specifically for polio immunization activities in the Region, health workers have been trained on preventative and precautionary measures to...

28 May 2020

Training health workers to fight COVID-19 in Sudan

  Polio personnel are putting in the hours to strengthen response 28 May 2020 – The polio eradication programme has stepped up to help the Sudanese Ministry of Health limit spread of the COVID-19 virus. The programme is working in 14 states in the country supporting COVID-19 surveillance, information dissemination and training of health workers. Dr Niazy Abd Alhameed Abd Alwahab, a National Medical Officer for the polio programme since 2013, is one of the personnel playing a key role. He and colleagues recently led 2 WHO COVID-19 trainings in River Nile...

06 May 2020

Somalia’s polio teams help combat COVID-19

4 May 2020 – “The road to the mountain village was rough. It’s only 50 kilometres, but it took more than 3 hours,” says Dr Fatima Ismail, a disease surveillance officer working in Somaliland. “We were bouncing in the car.” In early 2020, Dr Fatima’s team headed to a remote village near Djibouti to check on a small boy. The boy’s right arm and leg showed a kind of paralysis that sometimes indicates polio. “The village polio volunteer in this mountainous area, geographically inaccessible, found an acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) case,”...

03 May 2020

April 2020 – Using the vast infrastructure developed to identify the poliovirus and deliver vaccination campaigns, the polio eradication programme is pitching in to protect the vulnerable from COVID-19, especially in polio-endemic countries. In Pakistan and Afghanistan, as well as worldwide, the programme is drawing on years of experience fighting outbreaks to support governments as they respond to the new virus. Read the full story Global Polio Eradication Initiative Statement on COVID-19

20 February 2020

Considering Primary Immune Deficiency in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

20 February 2020 – In line with the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) recommendation and the Global Strategic Surveillance Action Plan 2018-2020, WHO EMRO and GPEI partners conducted the Regional Meeting on Poliovirus Surveillance among Primary Immunodeficiency Patients (PIDs) between 28-30 October 2019 in Amman, Jordan. The meeting aimed to develop national plans for PID surveillance and identify next steps to roll out PID surveillance in selected countries. The lessons learnt from phase I implementation of the project will be used to implement PID surveillance elsewhere. Dr Hamid Jafari, Director for...

12 December 2019

Mitigating the threat of poliovirus importation to Sudan

12 December 2019 -- The World Health Organization and national health authorities in Sudan are scaling up efforts to reduce the risk of poliovirus transmission to the country. Sudan borders a number of countries facing outbreaks of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV), including Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR) to the west, and Ethiopia and Somalia to the east. Population movements between these countries increase the risk of importation of polio to Sudan. To prevent a possible outbreak, WHO and national health authorities have been working amidst immense operational challenges to...

12 November 2019

Tracking the poliovirus in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

12 November 2019 -- In a rapidly expanding megacity, amongst conflict or in mountainous border areas, how does the polio programme deduce where the virus is hiding? To eradicate the poliovirus, every child must be vaccinated. We must also detect where virus remains. The two key methods used to do this are acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance, which alerts the programme to children exhibiting the key sign and symptom of polio, and environmental surveillance, which is used to detect the poliovirus in the sewage water systems of communities. But the most...

29 October 2019

Drawing a line under the “unfinished business” of polio

Dr Hamid Jafari, Director of the Polio Eradication Programme in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, calls for determination as we tackle the last hurdles to eradication 24 October 2019 – As the new director of the Polio Eradication Programme in the Eastern Mediterranean Region – the last area of this planet where wild poliovirus still paralyses children – it would be easy to feel frustrated. And yet I am not. I am energized. More than two decades ago, I was involved in laying the foundations of the polio eradication programme across this Region....

23 October 2019

Happy World Polio Day!

23 October 2019 – World Polio Day on 24 October 2019 arrives at a critical moment for the programme worldwide, and especially in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. It’s no secret that 2019 has been a tough year for our Region, with more than 80 children paralyzed by wild poliovirus in Pakistan and Afghanistan. As the polio programmes in the 2 endemic countries make the changes needed to achieve eradication, the rest of the Region – and the globe – are pulling together to celebrate the ground covered so far, and move...

10 September 2019

Islamic Advisory Group expresses concern on interrupted vaccination activities and calls on international community to join hands to end polio

5 September 2019, Cairo, Egypt ‒ The Islamic Advisory Group for Polio Eradication (IAG) held its sixth annual meeting reaffirming its commitment to global polio eradication efforts and reiterating its trust in the safety and effectiveness of the poliovirus vaccine as a preventative and life-saving tool that protects children. The meeting was hosted in Cairo by His Eminence Dr Ahmed El-Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of Al Azhar Al Sharif, and co-chaired by His Eminence Sheikh Dr Saleh Bin Abdullah Bin Humaid, President of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA). They both...

16 August 2019

Background 16 August 2019 - The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on polio eradication in Afghanistan and Pakistan is the principal advisory group for polio eradication for both Afghanistan and Pakistan. The TAG is an independent body charged with advising and making recommendations to each ministry of health and Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) partners on polio eradication programme policies, strategies and operations. It is convened by the WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean on behalf of WHO Member States and the GPEI partnership. TAG advises each ministry of health and GPEI...

05 August 2019

Looking ahead to a polio-free future

Progress to end polio discussed at the Thirty-third meeting of the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Certification Commission for Poliomyelitis Eradication 5 August 2019 – Ending polio requires commitment from countries all over the world. At the April meeting of the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Certification Commission (RCC) for Poliomyelitis Eradication, held in Muscat, Oman, the focus was on recent successes, current challenges, and looking ahead to further actions required to achieve a polio-free future for all children.