The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The African continent might be declared free of all three wild poliovirus types- 1, 2 and 3, following progress in Nigeria, the last country to record a case.
The Africa Regional Certification Commission(ARCC), an independent body responsible for certifying the eradication of wild poliovirus in Africa, on behalf of the World Health Organisation- WHO, today said that it would make its final decision about the region’s wild polio virus status in August 2020.
Nigeria was declared free of world poliovirus 3, in 2019 after not reporting a case for three years. The commission had already accepted the documentation of the other 43 countries in the region. Prof Rose Leke, the chairperson of the ARCC says that they are satisfied with what they have seen and hope to deliver their decision soon.
“We are reviewing updated reports from the other 43 countries in the WHO African Region and we anticipate that by August 2020, we will deliver our final decision on the region’s certification status of wild poliovirus eradication,” Professor Leke said.
According to Prof Leke, other countries that were visited and whose data will lead to the wild poliovirus declaration include Cameroon, Central African Republic, and South Sudan.
Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO Africa regional director says the declaration will be an example of what happens when people work together to defeat a disease.
“As the continent struggles with COVID-19, this milestone shows that when leaders, partners, health workers, and communities come together we can triumph over the most difficult health challenges,” she said.
Last year, experts announced that wild poliovirus type 3 has been eradicated across the world. The announcement represents a historic achievement for humanity following the eradication of smallpox and wild poliovirus type 2. Only two countries in the world, Afghanistan, and Pakistan still have cases of wild poliovirus 1.
The eradication of wild poliovirus will be a big achievement for Rotary International that has together with organizations like WHO, the United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the U.S Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) led the fight to eliminate polio from the world. To date, the humanitarian organization has contributed more than USD 1.6 billion(5.9 trillion shillings) to the fight against polio.
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