Africa Is Now Polio Free
The Africa Regional Certification Commission for Polio Eradication on August 25, 2020 declared Africa to be polio free.
The milestone comes four years after Nigeria, the last polio-endemic country in Africa, recorded its final case of wild poliovirus following decades of effort from Global Polio Eradication Initiative partners, local and national leaders, and health workers throughout the African region.
About 9 billion doses of oral polio vaccine were administered, hundreds of millions of children have been immunized, and 1.8 million cases of wild poliovirus have been averted throughout the region during the course of the effort.
The announcement is in part a result of the cumulative actions of Rotary and its members, who have contributed nearly $890 million—and countless volunteer hours—to eliminate polio in the African region.
Globally, Rotary has contributed more than $2.1 billion to fight polio, and countless volunteer hours since launching its polio eradication program, PolioPlus, in 1985.
In 1988, Rotary formed the Global Polio Eradication Initiative with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Gates Foundation, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance later joined. When the initiative launched, there were 350,000 cases of polio every year.
“Rotary members have played an invaluable role in the effort to rid the African region of wild polio,’’ Rotary International President Holger Knaack and The Rotary Foundation Chair K. R Ravindran said in a joint statement. “We should be proud of all the hard work that we’ve done to eliminate the wild poliovirus throughout Africa and in nearly every country in the world.’’
The decades-long effort across the 47 countries of the African region involved millions of health workers traveling by foot, boat, bike and bus, innovative strategies to vaccinate children amid conflict and insecurity, and a huge disease surveillance network to test cases of paralysis and check sewage for the virus.
Over the last two decades, countless Rotary members in countries across the African region and around the world have worked together to raise funds, immunize children, advocate with local and national leaders, and raise awareness about the importance of vaccination, enabling the Global Polio Eradication Initiative to effectively respond to and stop polio outbreaks.
“We are calling on you today to recommit yourselves to ending polio. We need each and every one of you to help finish this fight and continue raising $50 million each year for PolioPlus,’’ Rotary International President and Rotary Foundation Chair said.
The wild virus continues to circulate in Afghanistan and Pakistan and once eradicated, polio will become the second disease ever to be wiped out globally, after small pox.
