The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday said global efforts to curtail spread of the poliovirus have achieved a 99.9 per cent decrease in polio cases.
The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, in a statement to commemorate the 2022 World Polio Day (WPD), said as many as 20 million children have been spared disability and are walking today.
Ms Moeti said since the landmark resolution for the worldwide eradication of polio was adopted in 1988 at the 41st World Health Assembly, global efforts have yielded positive results.
She said two of the three strains of wild poliovirus (Type 2 and Type 3) have been certified as eradicated, and in 2020 the African region was certified as free of indigenous wild polio.
“This progress is admirable, and has safeguarded millions of children and their families from this crippling virus,” she said.
World Polio Day
The World Polio Day is marked annually on October 24, providing an opportunity to highlight global efforts…
