• Nigeria reports no case in one week
HEALTH ministers and delegates from the 194 World Health Organisation (WHO) member-states, including Nigeria, Monday at the 66th World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland, endorsed the new Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan 2013-2018 to secure a lasting polio-free world. They urged full implementation and financing of the plan.
The ministers, attending the WHA, acknowledged the progress achieved in the past year in bringing polio to its lowest ever level, thanks to actions of member-states in placing polio eradication on an emergency footing even as Nigeria, for the first time in a very long time, did not report any case of polio last week.
According to the latest edition of Weekly Polio Update published Monday by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), no new Wild Polio Virus (WPV) cases were reported in the past week. "The total number of WPV cases for 2013 remains 22. The most recent WPV cases had onset of paralysis on April 24, 2013, that is type one (WPV1s) from Borno and Taraba.
"No new cases of circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Virus type two (cVDPV2) were reported in the past week. The most recent cVDPV2 case had onset of paralysis in November 24, 2012, from Kebbi."
The report reads: "A rapid surveillance review was conducted in Kano. Slight improvements in surveillance were noted, particularly in areas with known deficits. Key recommendations to further strengthen surveillance activities were put forward, and activities will be monitored to ensure implementation.
"Sub-national Immunisation Plus Days (IPDs) were held last week in northern and middle-belt states. Initial monitoring results suggest that overall quality has stagnated, particularly in traditional high-risk areas. Preparations are on-going for the next IPDs in mid-June."
Health ministers called on all countries to do more to protect frontline health workers everywhere, and ensure access to all children no matter where they live. Deadly attacks on health workers occurred in some parts of Pakistan (in December) and Nigeria (in February), and the Assembly praised the dedication and heroism of health workers everywhere.
WHO Director-General, Dr. Margaret Chan, said: "Insecurity continues to compromise the eradication effort. We mourn the many polio workers who have lost their lives trying to administer vaccines."
Health ministers noted the impact of national emergency action plans being implemented in the last three remaining endemic countries - Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan - as more children are being vaccinated for the first time in traditional reservoir areas.
The Assembly also received stark warning of the on-going risk the disease poses to children everywhere; with confirmation of a new polio outbreak in the Horn of Africa that is Somalia and Kenya.
Noting the generous pledges made to support polio eradication at the Global Vaccine Summit, delegates urged donors to rapidly convert these pledges into contributions. The WHA pointed out that this funding was critical for accelerated implementation of the plan, given the complexity and scale of introducing inactivated polio vaccine worldwide.
The Guardian