Afrigather At the moment, we commemorate the 2023 World Polio Day (WPD) by becoming a member of the worldwide neighborhood to create consciousness about polio eradication and urge dad and mom to vaccinate their kids. We,– the World Well being Group (WHO), UNICEF, and ROTARY – reaffirm our dedication to proceed delivering on our promise till polio is eradicated in Ethiopia.
Polio is a extremely contagious and harmful illness attributable to a virus that assaults the nervous system and 1 in 200 contaminated individuals face the chance of everlasting paralysis. Due to this fact, the eradication of polio is taken into account vital on a world scale and the World Polio Day is noticed yearly to lift consciousness for the polio vaccination.
The World Polio Day can be celebrated globally on twenty fourth October and the theme for this yr is “TOGETHER, WE END POLIO” to point out that the worldwide combat to finish polio wants working collectively and acknowledge everybody’s contribution in any respect ranges.
The International polio eradication core companions, the World Well being Group (WHO), UNICEF, USAID, Rotary Worldwide, the U.S Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC), Invoice & Melinda Gates Basis, and Gavi, the vaccine alliance have been supporting the polio eradication effort actively with a objective to eradicate polio worldwide and managed to deliver the polio circumstances down by 100 per cent worldwide.
Africa has additionally made super progress in direction of the eradication of the wild poliovirus (WPV), and in 2020, the WHO Africa Area was licensed as wild polio-free, because of international locations’ sustained dedication and coordination of companions. Nonetheless, the job just isn’t but finished, and a non-wild polio variant continues to flow into in under-immunized communities and wild polio nonetheless threatens a couple of international locations in Africa and past.
In June 2017, Ethiopia was licensed wild polio-free standing following the usual certification course of performed by the Africa Regional Certification Fee for Polio Eradication (ARCC). The outstanding progress in Ethiopia wouldn’t have been potential with out the management of the Ethiopian Ministry of Well being, the dedication of frontline staff, and the beneficiant help of world companions.
Although the Ethiopian Ministry of Well being and its companions are working tirelessly to take care of the momentum, Ethiopia has remained at excessive danger for the importation and circulation of VDPV and WPV on account of excessive cross-border inhabitants motion and low inhabitants immunity in opposition to the importation of WPV.
Since polio has no treatment, there isn’t any different strategy to cease its unfold than to immunize your child on the earliest potential. So, we urge all dad and mom and caregivers to make sure that they defend their child’s life by offering them with the vaccination on time.
We additionally urge all companions, stakeholders, and well being staff to do their half in stopping the transmission of this lethal virus as nicely by vaccinating each baby and strengthening illness surveillance.
We noticeably acknowledge the dedication of the Ministry of Well being Ethiopia to discover a number of means to cease all types of polio within the nation. In 2021, Ethiopia launched a brand new polio vaccine, a novel kind two oral poliovirus vaccine (nOPV2), which is now in use all through the nation and there’s additionally a plan to introduce the second dose of Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV2) into the routine immunization to strengthen the immune system.
As we commemorate World Polio Day, we reaffirm our unwavering dedication to proceed working with the Authorities of Ethiopia, to make sure that each baby, in all places, is vaccinated to cease the circulation of vaccine-derived poliovirus in Ethiopia.
As we collectively commemorate World Polio Day, we name upon the Authorities of Ethiopia and our immunization companions to affix us in celebrating the progress we now have collectively made thus far and to take care of wild poliovirus-free standing.
Our message is evident: Any type of polio, anyplace on the planet, is a menace to kids in all places!
Therefore, allow us to attain the susceptible and marginalized populations with protected and lifesaving vaccines.
