Today, there is much to celebrate for many South-East Asian nations. After years of fighting a crippling disease, the countries have finally won over it.
The World Health Organization (WHO) made an official declaration that India and 10 other countries in Asia are now certified polio-free. Other polio-free countries are Bhutan, Bangladesh, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Indonesia, India, Myanmar, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste and Thailand.
The announcement came after an independent commission proved that the 11 South-East Asian nations had no confirmed case of the disease for the last three years. The certification came from the South-East Asia Regional Certification Commission for Polio Eradication.
"This is a momentous victory for the millions of health workers who have worked with governments, nongovernmental organizations, civil society and international partners to eradicate polio from the Region. It is a sign of what we can bequeath our children when we work together," said Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh, the regional director for the WHO South-East Asia Region.
The independent panel has 11 experts in various fields such as public health, virology, clinical medicine, epidemiology and other correlated specialties. These experts reviewed for two days evidences from the said countries prior to the decision of the declaration.
"Before a Region can be certified polio-free, several conditions must be satisfied such as: at least three years of zero confirmed cases due to indigenous wild poliovirus; excellent laboratory-based surveillance for poliovirus; demonstrated capacity to detect, report, and respond to imported cases of poliomyelitis; and assurance of safe containment of polioviruses in laboratories (introduced since 2000)," the WHO says.
How did these countries do it?
To ensure that nearly 172 million children of less than five years old got vaccine, 2.4 million vaccinators under the supervision of 150,000 officers went to visit more than 200 million households. The children received Oral Polio Vaccine.
The vaccination teams performed the immunization at bus stands, rail stations, construction sites and market areas, in the hopes to target all children.
"At 3 am sharp they would collect the vaccines from the refrigerators and leave for the boats that would collect them at 5 am with very precise plans to reach every village along the Kosi river. Sometimes there was no electricity and people worked in candle light. Situations could get very rough with many pockets violently rejecting the idea of vaccination but never did I see the volunteers in despair," the Israeli-born designated photographer Sephi Bergerson recounted the campaign he covered since 2004.
The campaign proved that strong partnerships between government and agencies can really help eradicate the disease. Aside from WHO, UNICEF and Rotary Clubs were among the partners.
"Thanks to polio eradication, we now know where these children are who were difficult to reach with vaccine. Now the polio programme has successfully reached them with polio drops in every round, there is no excuse not to go back with other critical health services, from how to have a safe birth, to where to get access to tuberculosis treatment and how to prevent HIV infection," said Dr. Singh.
India has been criticized in the past for having a broken healthcare system. In fact, nearly half of polio cases in the world have been recorded in their country. The certification marking a global health milestone for India is truly one to celebrate about.
The regional director of WHO, however, left a word of caution and continuous vigilance.
"Until polio is globally eradicated, all countries are at risk and the Region's polio-free status remains fragile. High immunization coverage can prevent an imported virus from finding an underimmunized, susceptible population. A sensitive surveillance system, able to quickly detect and identify any importation and guide a programmatic response, is critical," she said.
Eighty percent of the world's population is now in living in polio-free regions, but the WHO recognizes the need for continuous work, specifically in countries where polio is still prevalent such as in Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
