From May 19–21, 2024, the State of Qatar hosted the 38th meeting of the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Regional Commission for Certification of Poliomyelitis Eradication (RCC). The RCC is the regional body that reviews and verifies each country’s progress towards maintaining a polio-free status. The annual RCC meeting is an opportunity for all 22...

A health worker marks a child's pinkie finger during a polio vaccination campaign, conducted in April 2024 in the Red Sea State, Sudan -WHO/WHO Sudan Photo credit: WHO/WHO Sudan9 May, 2024 – It’s day one of the polio vaccination campaign in Sudan’s Red Sea State, where poliovirus was detected in sewage samples earlier in 2024. At the crack of...

By Dr Hamid Jafari, Director, Polio Eradication, WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region Photo credit: WHO Pakistan28 April 2024  – Each year at the end of April, the global community commemorates World Immunization Week, a milestone that reminds us of what humanity can achieve when we come together and take action for our collective health. Given that...

Credit: WHO/WHO Pakistan 26 March 2024 – To strengthen the fight against polio, health ministers from across the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region gathered virtually for the 10th meeting of the Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks. It was the first meeting of the Subcommittee convened by the new WHO Regional Director for the...

7 March 2024 – Women play central, diverse and multifaceted roles in safeguarding children from polio, proving that investments in women’s capacities and skills translate into investments in strengthening health systems. The stories below highlight some ways in which women are breaking barriers, driving change and inching us closer to a...

5 March 2024 – My name is Farid, and I am 35 years old. I live in the Bati Kot district of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. I contracted polio when I was 3 years old. The symptoms started with a fever, then a weakness in my left leg and in my left hand. While strength eventually returned to my hand, my leg remained weak. My parents took me to the...

A child receives routine immunizations in Mogadishu, Somalia, August 2023. Photo credit: WHO/I. Taxta14 February 2024  – A new investment case shows that successful polio transition in the 8 priority countries of the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region will have a very high return on investment. Economic and social benefits totalling an estimated...

Dr Abdellatif Abdelwahab, Public Health Officer of White Nile State (left), collecting stool samples from Sennar State on his way to Gezira State. WHO/Sudan23 July 2023 – At the earliest signs of the ongoing conflict in Sudan, in the middle of April, WHO’s country team sprang into action. After all, conflict and infectious diseases are known to be...

Dr Humayun Asghar21 June 2023 – The vast machinery of the global polio eradication programme is much like the inner workings of a clock – a network of interconnected people, organizations and programmes that together are more powerful than the sum of their parts. Collaboration is foundational to eradication, and every eradicator plays a part in edging the...

Credit: WHO/M. Al-Azraqi 21 May 2023 – In May 2014, the WHO Director-General declared the international spread of poliovirus a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) under the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005), a designation that allows for accelerated response, emergency disbursement of funding and mitigation...