W.H.O. Certifies India Polio Free

After finishing 3 complete years without witnessing virtually any incident of polio, India rejoiced a groundbreaking success in public health on the eleventh of February 2014; the significant triumph over polio.

India has not recorded virtually any instance of polio; ever since a two-year aged young girl acquired polio paralysis on thirteenth of January 2011 in the Howrah city of West Bengal. India’s triumph over polio paved the way for a polio-free certification of the South East Asia zone of W.H.O in March end.

This is certainly an unparalleled development of a nation, which had more than half the cases of polio throughout the world by the calendar year 2009. Entirely proving the specialists wrong; who often predicted that India would be the very last to end polio, since its endemic areas in portions of Uttar Pradesh as well as Bihar were regarded as the challenging regions of the globe for polio elimination.

India overcame enormous challenges, with a robust determination that matched up $2 billion allocation through the years to end polio. Executing revolutionary techniques, the program extends to an amazing 99% coverage in polio promotions, ensuring all children; even the remotest part of the nation is safeguarded against polio.

India launched the oral polio vaccine in 1985, with a widespread immunisation program, in the background of over two lakh instances of polio reported yearly (according to approximations of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics).

In 1995, the very first nationwide polio immunization mission has been organized; since, that time two nationwide along with several sub-national promotions were rolled out each year for kids up to five years of age.

Since, then each year a nationwide polio mission, consisting of 23 lakh vaccinators, headed by 155,000 supervisors, paid a visit to 209 million homes to immunize 170 million small children around the age of five years. To immunize kids moving about, transit vaccinators are placed at bus stands, railroad stations, on train cars, market places as well as vital road intersections. Almost ten million small children are immunized by the transit squads in every polio mission of which 100,000 on train cars.

Concentrating on the migrant people, the persons moving around looking for livelihood are those who skip polio immunization program, and hence considering their transient nature, the program includes 70,000 brick kilns as well as 38, 000 building sites.

Approximately, 4.5 million youngsters were immunized in the higher than average risk migrant settlements in every polio promotion.

Ever since the beginning of the polio promotions in 1995; approximately 131 polio promotions are actually conducted in India till date, wherein 12.1 billion doses of polio vaccines were actually administered.

A completely independent board of eleven professionals from the field of virology, epidemiology, clinical medicine, public health as well as relevant specialties constituting the South-East Asia Regional Certification Commission for Polio Eradication (SEA-RCCPE) got together for 2 days to evaluate proof from nations before arriving to the conclusion, that every eleven nations of the Region, which include India, have become polio-free as well as have achieved the prerequisites for certification.

To mark the event, the WHO handed out official certification to India for its actual ‘Polio Free’ status. The Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Ghulam Nabi Azad, was awarded the official certificate.

Talking on the occasion, Mr. Azad showed joy and happiness at the historical public health, success which appeared unattainable with India facing the highest possible problem of polio instances globally. Mr.Azad stated that India has embarked on the program to eliminate the country, of polio nineteen years back in 1995, when the disease usually cripple higher than 50,000 small children in the nation each year. He stated this success was achieved with strong will at the top levels, technological knowhow akin to the indigenous bivalent polio vaccine, appropriate internal finances as well as careful supervision of polio program, with which immunization levels increased to 99 percent coverage and also India accomplished polio eradication.

The regional director of W.H.O for South-East Asia division, Dr. Poonam Singh designated this achievement as a historic win for the innumerable health care staffs, who have worked with the government authorities, N.G.O’s, civil society and also international associates; to eliminate polio from this region. She further added that we are able to bequeath our little kids a better world, when we collaborate.

Over 2,000 team members from the field–the vaccinators, local community mobilizers of the UNICEF-led Societal Mobilization System, the monitoring health care officers of W.H.O, as well as the health care division officers – who were undoubtedly the crucial members in India’s majestic tale of triumph over polio, were there at the gathering.

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