Fighting polio vaccine misinformationWhile the end of polio is within reach, immunization efforts can easily be derailed by the rapid spread of vaccine misinformation. A few years ago, fake videos of children falling sick after receiving polio vaccination spread like wildfire on social media in Pakistan causing mas...
World Polio Day 2023: A global and urgent call to “Make Polio History”To celebrate this year’s World Polio Day, supporters from over 30 countries, across every region of the world, joined the Make Polio History campaign to tell global partners, donors, and polio-affected country governments that eradication is po...
Twenty-second report from the Independent Monitoring BoardThe Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) welcomes the latest report from the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB), which presents a rigorous independent review of the programme’s progress toward its goals - aiming to interrupt all remaining wild poliovirus typ...
AFP surveillance training in MalaysiaFollowing request from the Ministry of Health of Malaysia on 19-21 September 2023 WHO organized training on surveillance for Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) for national and state level health care workers both public health and clinicians.Read more in the latest issue of t...
Polio nowThe Strategy Committee of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) has commissioned a formal evaluation of the 2016 global withdrawal of Sabin poliovirus 2 (OPV2) and switch from trivalent oral polio vaccine (tOPV) to bivalent OPV (bOPV).Read more in the latest issue of the bulletinRead more...
GPEI delegation concludes visit to PakistanA high-level delegation of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), including the Polio Oversight Board (POB), visited Pakistan on 16 – 20 July to discuss the impact of political transition on eradication efforts and the strategies in place to vaccinate children tha...
Urgent actions are required in African region to response to polio outbreaksAt the 31st meeting of the Africa Regional Certification Commission (ARCC) held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 3 to 7 July, the ARCC urged countries and health partners to urgently address gaps in polio immunity to avert outbreaks. ...
32nd Meeting of the Technical Advisory Group on Immunization and Vaccine-Preventable Diseases in the Western Pacific RegionThe 32nd Meeting of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on Immunization and Vaccine-Preventable Diseases in the Western Pacific Region was convened on 20-23 June in Manila, the Philippines.Read...
Eleventh Meeting of the Combined Sub-regional Committees for the Certification of Poliomyelitis Eradication and Verification of Measles and Rubella Elimination in Pacific Island Countries and AreasThe 11th meeting of the combined sub-regional committees for the certification of poliomyelitis eradication and verific...
Supplementary immunization activities in Papua New GuineaOn Monday May 8, 2023, the Department of Health of Papua New Guinea supported by the WHO, UNICEF and other partners launched a vaccination campaign to address gaps in population immunity against childhood diseases.Read more in the latest issue of...
Meeting of the Global polio eradication initiative Surveillance GroupThebiannualmeetingofGlobalPolioEradicationInitiative(GPEl)'s Surveillance Group (SG) was held in Atlanta, GA, USA from 17-19 April 2023.Read more in the latest issue of the bulletinR...
Rigorous independent review to assess status to meeting end-2023 critical goals2023 is the target year for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) to interrupt all remaining wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) and circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) transmission chains.Read more in the latest i...
Eastern Mediterranean health leaders call for redoubled efforts for a defining year for polioOn 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.Read more in...
The meeting of the Global Commission for the Certification of the Eradication of Poliomyelitis (GCC)On 21-22 February 2023, the Global Commission for Certification of Poliomyelitis Eradication (GCC) met in Amman, Jordan.Read more in the latest issue of the bulletinRead more in the latest issue of the bulle...
Polio review in MalaysiaOn 21-22 February 2023, the Global Commission for Certification of Poliomyelitis Eradication (GCC) met in Amman, Jordan.Read more in the latest issue of the bulletinRead more in the latest issue of the bulletinArchive of previous issues can be accessed here. ...
Polio review in MalaysiaOn 13-20 February 2023 joint team of national and international experts (MoH of Malaysia, US CDC, WCO MYS, WPRO, WHO HQ) conducted review of polio programme performance in Malaysia.Read more in the latest issue of the bulletin!--Read more in the latest issue of the bulle...
Gearing up to stop polio in Afghanistan and PakistanIn 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 ...
Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 in SudanOn 18 December 2022, the WHO received a notification on the detection of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) in a 48-month-old male with acute flaccid paralysis (AFP), from West Darfur, Western Sudan. Sequencing results showed that the isolate...
Vaccine-derived polio virus detected in 2 Canadian wastewater samplesAfter initiating its own wastewater testing for polio last year, Canada has detected two samples of vaccine-derived polio virus type 2 (VDPV2). According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)’s epidemio...
Polio experts eye clear tactics in final push to achieve success2022 may well go down in history as the year of contrasts in the global effort to eradicate polio. At first glance, with polio detections in places such as New York and London and an increase in cases in Pakistan, it may seem that the effort is backsli...