Milestone for Africa- Eradicates WildPolio Virus!

Polio is a viral disease that can cause paralysis, and mainly affects children under five. This has been a deadly virus that Africa has been dealing with for a very long time now. The 16 countries in Africa currently affected by circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses outbreaks include: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Togo and Zambia.

The virus is transmitted from person to person, mostly through contact with infected faeces, or less frequently through contaminated water or food. It enters the body through the mouth and multiplies inside the intestines. The fact that the countries were reporting huge number of polio cases proves that the health system was next to zero and needed immediate attention.

However, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel and even though it took so many years for Africa to reach to the end, it’s always better to be late than never. The African Regional Certification Commission for Polio eradication (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.

While there is no cure for polio, the disease can be prevented through a simple and effective oral vaccine, thus protecting a child for life. Good health lays the foundation for vibrant and productive communities, stronger economies, safer nations and a better world. The last case of wild poliovirus in the region was detected in Nigeria in 2016. Since then, polio eradication efforts have spared up to 1.8 million children from crippling life-long paralysis, and saved approximately 180,000 lives, WHO reported.The ARCC (Africa Regional Certification Commission) certification entailed a decades-long process of documentation and analysis of polio surveillance, immunization and laboratory capacity, as well as field verification visits to each country in the region.

WHO officials in Africa believe that the experience in eradicating wild poliovirus has other benefits for health on the continent. The fact that despite weak health systems, logistical and operational challenges, countries collaborated effectively to achieve the milestone in order to safeguard the present as well as the future generations to come from this deadly virus.

This is a huge milestone for Africa that has been achieved with great amount of efforts and cooperation from all the countries together.