This PowerPoint presentation was part of a December 2006 meeting hosted by the India Expert Advisory Group (IEAG) and held in New Delhi, India. Participating organisations included the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The presentation gave an overview of the recent epidemiological history of polio on a global scale, with a focus on the four polio endemic countries - India, Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Despite a drastic global decrease in the number of confirmed polio cases since 1988, these countries have seen an increase in the number of cases between 2005 and 2006 due to missed children.

The Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) implemented a number of tools and strategies to deal with this threat between mid-2005 and mid-2006. These included:

• New eradication tools, including the monovalent oral polio vaccine (mOPV)
• Laboratory methods which allow confirmation of polio two times faster than previously possible; and
• Efforts to engage societies at all levels, including encouraging participation from religious leaders and promoting community dialogues.

The impact of these strategies was illustrated by data from Nigeria, where zero-dose children in the northern part of the country fell from 50% to 20% in 2006. Afghanistan and Pakistan were also reported to have achieved significant success, with a 50% decline in Type 1 polio in 2006. Intensified strategies in these two countries for 2007 will include 6 campaigns in infected areas between January and June, the formation of a Polio Action Group to coordinate all ministries, and synchronised cross-border immunisation activities.

In conclusion, it was stressed that polio eradication is a feasible and evidence-based goal for these 4 remaining endemic countries. The overall approach for 2007 will focus on stopping transmission in these countries, protecting polio-free areas and responding to outbreaks as they occur, and reducing the polio importation risk. Financial considerations for this initiative were also discussed, with an emphasis on closing the upcoming 2007-2008 funding gap.

For the full presentation, please see contact details below.

Click here to access summaries of other presentations from the December 2006 IEAG meeting.