Regional Subcommittee for polio eradication and outbreaks

Regional Subcommittee for Polio Eradication and Outbreaks

In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, polio eradication is a regional emergency. Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only 2 countries in which wild poliovirus remains endemic. Several countries have been affected by polio outbreaks caused by emergence or international spread of vaccine-derived poliovirus.

To ultimately achieve a polio-free world, Member States in the Region must work closely with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), donors, communities and all polio partners to refocus efforts and renew our collective ownership and accountability in the final stretch to eradicate polio.

The Regional Subcommittee aims to bring together Member States from across the Region to intensify regional solidarity and commitment to collective actions that achieve polio eradication. Agreement for the establishment of the Subcommittee was formally endorsed by Member States through resolution EM/RC67/R4 at the Sixty-seventh session of the Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean in October 2020.

Statements

Statement on stopping wild poliovirus transmission in Afghanistan and Pakistan | Arabic
26 March 2024

Statement on stopping transmission of vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 in Yemen’s northern governorates and in Somalia | Arabic
26 March 2024

Statement on stopping transmission of vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 in Yemen’s northern governorates and in Somalia | Arabic
28 February 2023

Statement on stopping wild poliovirus transmission in Afghanistan and Pakistan | Arabic
28 February 2023

Statement on stopping wild poliovirus transmission in Afghanistan and Pakistan
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
14 June 2022

Statement on stopping wild poliovirus transmission in Afghanistan and Pakistan by the Eastern Mediterranean Ministerial Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks

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

Regional Subcommittee objectives

Build the political and financial support needed to achieve eradication. Regional support is essential in driving focused interventions to foster neutrality and impartiality in settings of conflict and unrest, and in raising domestic and international funding.
Oversee and encourage collective public health actions across the Region. Polio anywhere a threat to children everywhere. Wild poliovirus circulates in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and several more Member States are affected by outbreaks of vaccine-derived polioviruses, but the entire Region is at risk. The solution must be a coordinated approach that includes the entire Region.
Support polio transition in the Region. With polio workers and infrastructure having led the COVID-19 response across the Region, the COVID-19 pandemic showed the world that an investment in polio is an investment in public health.

Polio Eradication Strategy 2022-2026: Delivering on a Promise

News

Health ministers convene in pivotal year for polio eradication at the 10th meeting of the Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks

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

Member States urged to go all in to end polio during meeting of the Regional Subcommittee for Polio Eradication and Outbreaks

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Membership and meetings

The Subcommittee convenes three times a year, including during the October Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean, where it provides its progress report. Subcommittee membership comprises ministers of health from Member States across the Region, with overall leadership from the Regional Director for the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region, Dr Hanan Balkhy. During the inaugural meeting of the Regional Subcommittee in March 2021, the Ministers of Health from Egypt and Saudi Arabia were elected as co-chairs of the Subcommittee. Currently, the Minister of Health for Qatar and the Minister of Health for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) jointly co-chair the subcommittee.

Members

Co-chairs:

HE Abdul Rahman Mohamad Al-Owais

Minister of Health and Prevention, United Arab Emirates

HE Dr Hanan Mohammed Al Kuwari

Minister of Public Health, Qatar

Members

HE Dr Ahmed Robleh Abdilleh

Federal Minister of Health, Djibouti

HE Dr Khaled Abdel Ghaffar

Minister of Health and Population, Arab Republic of Egypt

HE Dr Bahram Eynollahi

Minister of Health and Medical Education, Islamic Republic of Iran

HE Dr Salih Al Hasnawi

Minister of Health, Iraq

HE Dr Firas Abiad

Minister of Public Health, Lebanon

HE Dr Hilal bin Ali Al Sabti

Minister of Health, Oman

Minister of Health, Pakistan

HE Mr Fahad bin Abdulrahman Al-Jalajel

Minister of Health, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

HE Dr Ali Haji Adam Abubakar

Federal Minister of Health and Human Services, Somalia

HE Dr Haitham Ibrahim Awadalla

Minister of Health, The Republic of Sudan

HE Professeur Ali Mrabet

Ministre de la santé, Tunis

HE Dr Qasem Muhammad Qasem Buhaibeh

Minister of Health and Population, Yemen