Polio Highlight
World Polio Day 2022
24 October 2022. Message of WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti: World Polio Day is marked annually on October 24, providing an opportunity to highlight global efforts toward a polio-free world, and to honour the unwavering commitment of those on the frontlines of the fight to eradicate polio.
The theme for this year, “World Polio Day 2022 and Beyond: A healthier future for mothers and children”, kicked off with discussions in Geneva between WHO, Rotary International and polio experts, to consider future efforts to continue the decades-long collaboration against polio.
Since the landmark resolution for the worldwide eradication of polio was adopted in 1988 at the 41st World Health Assembly, global efforts have achieved a more than 99.9% decrease in polio cases. As many as 20 million children have been spared disability and are walking today. 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. However, detections of new outbreaks, including in areas where polio was believed to have been eradicated, is a stark reminder that if we do not deliver on our promise to eradicate all forms of polio, everywhere, no child is safe anywhere.
https://www.afro.who.int/regional-director/speeches-messages/world-polio-day-2022 (en inglés)
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