HEALTH: Polio Elimination Target Extended to 2005

By Gustavo Capdevila Reprint | | Print |

Gustavo Capdevila

GENEVA, May 16 2000 (IPS) - International health officials acknowledged Monday that the goal to eradicate poliomyelitis must be extended beyond the original target – the end of this year -, but confirmed that the certification declaring the whole world polio free would still take place in 2005.

People will continue to be infected with the poliovirus in some 20 African and Asian countries through the end of this year, according to a joint statement by the organisations leading the world campaign to wipe out polio. Certification of the disease’s elimination takes place five years after the last case of infection is reported.

The announcement made Monday in Geneva corresponded with the opening of the annual meeting of the World Health Organisation (WHO), which will take up several issues, including polio.

Last year’s meeting of the WHO governing body concluded with a recommendation for stepping up polio-fighting initiatives by the end of 2000.

Over the last several weeks, the international Technical Consultative Group on Poliomyelitis evaluated the progress made in the 30 countries where polio has been endemic, concluding that some geographical areas will continue to see transmission of the disease through the end of this year.

The group identified the areas that will require special attention: four northern states in India, countries affected by armed conflict in sub-Saharan Africa and the large pockets of the virus – particularly Bangladesh, Nigeria and Pakistan.

In addition to the WHO, Rotary International, the US-based Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are leaders in the campaign to eradicate polio.

A joint statement from these agencies said that more than 190 states and territories will have stopped all transmission of this crippling disease by the end of this year.

At the opening session of the World Health Assembly on Monday, WHO Director-General, Gro Harlem Brundtland, confirmed that the goal of certifying a polio-free world by 2005 would be upheld.

But, she warned, if the objective is to be reached, “there is no room for complacency,” adding, “in the final phase, in order to mop up pockets of poliovirus, to reach every child and to ensure eradication, immunization efforts need to be intensified.”

The technical group said that the persistence of poliovirus transmission was due to the difficulty in reaching children to immunize them, especially in countries caught up in war, and to the late discovery of cases in areas where epidemiological controls are lacking.

The insufficient supply of vaccines has hampered eradication efforts, the campaign lacks an estimated 300 million dollars to keep up its programmes, and limitations in vaccination coverage have become routine.

Carlo Ravizza, president of Rotary International, said his organisation is “at the forefront of victory in the fight to end polio.” By 2005, he estimates Rotary will have contributed some 500 million dollars toward wiping out the disease.

CDC director Jeffrey Kaplan believes the elimination of polio is “technically feasible because we have the right vaccines and the right strategies to rid the world of this terrible crippling disease.”

The prediction for polio-free certification in 2005 is based on the success of three of the world’s regions. The Americas were certified as polio-free in 1994. The WHO expects to certify the western Pacific region, including China, in November, and hopes to grant the same title to Europe in 2002.