The independent Africa Regional Certification Commission (ARCC) for Polio Eradication on Tuesday officially declared that World Health Organisation (WHO) African Region is free of wild poliovirus.
WHO Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville, Congo, disclosed this in a statement posted on its website.
According to the statement, this marks the eradication of the second virus from the face of the continent since smallpox 40 years ago.
The statement quoted Prof. Rose Fomban Leke, ARCC Chairperson, as saying “Today is a historic day for Africa.
“ARCC is pleased to announce that the Region has successfully met the certification criteria for wild polio eradication, with no cases of the wild poliovirus reported in the Region for four years.
The ARCC’s decision comes after an exhaustive, decades-long process of documentation and analysis of polio surveillance, immunization and laboratory capacity of the region’s 47 member states, which included conducting field verification visits to each country.
In 1996, African Heads of State committed to eradicate polio during the Thirty-Second Ordinary Session of the Organization of African Unity in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
At the time, polio was paralysing an estimated 75,000 children, annually, on the African continent.
In the same year, Nelson Mandela with the support of Rotary International jumpstarted Africa’s commitment to polio eradication with the launch of the Kick Polio Out of Africa campaign.
Mandela’s call mobilised African nations and leaders across the continent to step up their efforts to reach every child with polio vaccine.
The last case of wild poliovirus in the region was detected in 2016 in Nigeria.
Since 1996, polio eradication efforts have prevented up to 1.8 million children from crippling life-long paralysis and saved approximately 180,000 lives.
“This is a momentous milestone for Africa. Now future generations of African children can live free of wild polio,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.
“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,” said Moeti.
While the eradication of wild poliovirus from the WHO African Region is a major achievement, 16 countries in the region are currently experiencing cVDPV2 outbreaks, which can occur in under-immunised communities.
The statement also quoted Dr Pascal Mkanda, Coordinator of WHO Polio Eradication Programme in the African Region, as saying:
“Africa has demonstrated that in spite of weak health systems, significant logistical and operational challenges across the continent, African countries have collaborated very effectively in eradicating wild poliovirus
“With the innovations and expertise that the polio programme has established, I am confident that we can sustain the gains, post-certification, and eliminate cVDPV2, ,” added Mkanda.
In addition, the statement quoted Moeti, as saying:“ The expertise gained from polio eradication will continue to assist the African region in tackling COVID-19 and other health problems that have plagued the continent for so many years and ultimately move the continent toward universal health coverage.
“This will be the true legacy of polio eradication in Africa.
Thanks to the dedication of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, polio cases have reduced by 99.9 per cent since 1988, bringing the world closer than ever before to ending polio.
The initiative is a public-private global partnership comprising national governments; WHO; Rotary International; the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; UNICEF; the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; and a broad range of long-term supporters.
Menawhile, WHO and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have congratulated Nigeria on being declared free of the wild poliovirus
WHO Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville, Congo, disclosed this in a statement posted on its website.
The independent Africa Regional Certification Commission (ARCC) for Polio Eradication on Tuesday, officially declared WHO African Region is free of wild poliovirus.
The statement stated that while the UN agencies congratulated Nigeria on the status, they emphasised that achieving the milestone was not the end of the job – all children under five years must continue to be vaccinated against vaccine-preventable diseases.
This is critical to significantly reduce avoidable mortality in Nigerian children under five years old, keep polio permanently out of Nigeria and ensure better health and well being for future generations.
The UN agencies also congratulated fellow Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) partners in Nigeria who helped reach this achievement: Rotary International; the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
They also congratulated Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) as well as Nigerian traditional and religious leaders and volunteer community mobilisers as the foot soldiers who fought to free Nigerian children from the wild poliovirus.
The statement quoted Dr Walter Mulumbo, WHO Nigeria Country Representative, as saying: “WHO rejoices with the people and government of Nigeria and acknowledges that wild polio-free certification is undoubtedly the greatest public health.
“It acknowledges that the certification is the greatest triumph in the annals of Nigeria and indeed Africa that will bequeath to posterity lessons learnt and best practices for addressing future public health interventions.
“Both UN agencies expressed strong appreciation for the role played by all stakeholders, especially the commitment and support of the Nigerian government at all levels, development partners, donors, traditional and community leaders, health workers and caregivers.
“This milestone is a clarion call to urgently rededicate resources to stopping the transmission of all types of poliovirus, strengthening routine immunisation to sustain the gains achieved – especially in high risk areas and traditional polio sanctuaries – and maintaining high quality surveillance.’’
Similarly, the statement quoted UNICEF Representative in Nigeria, Peter Hawkins, as saying: “It is a momentous achievement that calls for celebration.
“This historic achievement not only signifies the end of the wild poliovirus across the entire African continent, but is also a significant springboard towards attaining global polio eradication.
“UNICEF joins Nigeria in celebrating this milestone – and congratulating Nigeria’s children, especially – but we must remember that the job is not over,” said Hawkins.
“All caregivers must continue to vaccinate their children against vaccine-preventable childhood diseases, including polio.
“Religious and community leaders, as champions of wild poliovirus eradication, should continue to mobilise caregivers to vaccinate their children for all preventable diseases. Children need their help now more than ever,’’ Hawkins added.
Hawkins further said not only was polio vaccination still crucial, all routine vaccinations were critical to children’s survival.
“We must all work together to strengthen routine immunisation services and ensure that all children under five receive all vaccines, including the polio vaccine.
“This is not the time for Nigeria to take its foot off the accelerator. This is the time for Nigeria to strengthen its primary health care system, and give routine immunisation a vital boost.”
UNICEF and WHO pledge to continue to support Nigeria to strengthen its primary healthcare system under the Primary Health Care Under One Roof (PHCUR) policy initiated by the Federal Government, including the goal to have at least one functional primary healthcare centre (PHC) in every ward in Nigeria.
Nigeria attained wild polio-free status after meeting all the criteria for certification, which include three years of non-detection of any wild poliovirus case in the country.
Before the certification, Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan were the only wild polio endemic countries globally.
