Intet barn behøver nogensinde igen blive ramt af børnelammelse, vurderer eksperter. Der sker gode fremskridt i bl.a. Afrika. Eksperterne advarer dog om, at så længe sygdommen ikke er udryddet, kan børn alle steder være i fare for smitte.
Ministers of health, health leaders and other global public health experts attending this week’s Executive Board (EB) meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, were encouraged by progress towards achieving a polio-free world.
Yet they warned that as long as the disease remained anywhere, children everywhere are at risk. The meeting noted that achieving eradication, a global public good, could only be achieved through global solidarity.
Reviewing latest global epidemiology and impact of emergency outbreak plans, the Board noted in particular the strong progress across Africa, which has not seen a case due to wild poliovirus in almost six months, and in stopping a devastating outbreak affecting the Middle East despite conflict and large-scale population movements affecting the region.
The Board commended the unwavering commitment of governments, health workers, humanitarian organizations, NGOs and civil society across the region, underscoring what successes could be achieved in the spirit of global solidarity.
The Board cautioned, however, that these positive developments needed to be further validated through intensified surveillance activities, including through rapid scale-up of environmental surveillance as appropriate.
Pakistan has 85% of all cases
At the same time, however, the Board expressed alarm at intensified transmission of the virus in Pakistan, which now accounts for 85% of all new polio cases worldwide, and virus continuing to spread beyond its borders.
Failure to eradicate polio in the last remaining endemic hotspots would result in massive resurgence of the disease, with virus spreading to cause outbreaks in polio-free countries around the world.
The Board noted the major ramp-up in Pakistan’s government commitment at all levels, to urgently address the situation through the development of an emergency ‘low season plan’ for the first half of 2015, which had all elements to rapidly eradicate polio.
Success, however, hinges on its full implementation at all levels, and the discussions highlighted the need for strong international support to ensure eradication strategies in all remaining infected countries can be fully implemented.
Læs resten af artiklen hos The Global Polio Eradication Initiative
