Who Declares Africa Polio-Free
                     WHO DECLARES 
AFRICA POLIO-FREE
INTRODUCTION
• Africa has been declared free of polio by the World Health 
Organisation in a significant public health milestone. 
• WHO's Africa Regional Certification Commission-certified 47 nations 
of Africa to be free of wild polio on August 25, 2020.  
Source: Jagran Josh
HISTORIC DAY FOR AFRICA
• The development marks a significant landmark in a decades-long 
campaign to eradicate the viral disease from across the world. 
• WHO's Regional Director of Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti made the 
announcement, describing it as a historic day for Africa.
Source: Time Magazene
NO POLIO CASES FOR PAST 
FOUR YEARS
• WHO stated that poliovirus now joins smallpox in the list of viruses 
that have been wiped out in Africa. 
• A commission led by Prof. Rose Gana Fomban Leke certified that 
no cases had occurred on the African continent for the past four 
years, which is a threshold for the eradication of poliovirus.
Source: Vanguard News
WHEN WAS THE LAST POLIO CASE 
REPORTED IN AFRICA?
• The last case of wild polio in Africa was reported in Nigeria four 
years ago. 
• According to WHO, about 95 percent of Africa's population has now 
been immunised, which was one of the conditions set before 
declaring the continent free from wild polio. 
Source: Vox
HAS POLIO THREAT BEEN COMPLETELY 
WIPED OUT FROM AFRICA?
• No, while the threat of wild polio has been wiped out, the threat of 
vaccine-derived polio continues to remain.
Source: Ommcom News
WHAT IS POLIO?
• Polio is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus, which may 
lead to paralysis or muscle weakening in a limb. 
• The virus is transmitted through contaminated water or food, or 
contact with an infected person. 
Source: Jagran Josh
POLIO SYMPTOMS
• Most people infected with the poliovirus don't become sick and have 
no symptoms. 
• The fatal cases, however, do develop paralysis.
Source: Verywell Health
WHO IS MOST VULNERABLE TO THE 
POLIOVIRUS?
• Children below the age of five years are most vulnerable to polio 
disease, which sometimes leads to irreversible paralysis and death 
in rare cases when breathing muscles are impacted. 
Source: Southern Research
POLIO ERADICATION CAMPAIGN IN 
AFRICA
• WHO had launched the ambitious polio eradication campaign in 
Africa 24 years ago in 1996. 
• At that time, polio had paralysed roughly 75,000 children on the 
continent each year. 
• The continent's last known case was in August 2016. 
Source: mymediaafrica
HAS POLIO BEEN ERADICATED 
FROM THE WORLD?
• WHO has declared that two of the 
three strains of wild poliovirus have 
been eradicated worldwide. 
• Africa was declared free from the last 
strain of the wild poliovirus. 
• The disease is only prevalent in parts 
of Pakistan and Afghanistan now.
Source: Stat