26 July 2024, Cairo, Egypt - Health ministers from across the Eastern Mediterranean Region have united to address the polio emergency in the occupied Palestinian territory. The urgent need for coordinated, collective regional action to combat circulating variant poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) in the Gaza Strip was the focus of the 11th meeting of the...

10 June 2024 – When a 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck south-eastern Afghanistan in the early hours of 22 June 2022, WHO’s polio workers were among the first responders. As dawn broke in Khost and Paktika provinces, and the extent of the devastation became evident, they helped attend to the many injured. WHO’s polio teams dressed wounds, provided...

To deliver a Polio-free world, the TAG recommends urgent efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan Members of the Technical Advisory Group deliberate on the necessary actions to end transmission of wild poliovirus in Afghanistan and Pakistan during discussions in Doha, Qatar, in May 2024.3 June 2024, Doha, Qatar – The meeting of the Technical Advisory...

From May 19–21, 2024, the State of Qatar hosted the 38th meeting of the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Regional Commission for Certification of Poliomyelitis Eradication (RCC). The RCC is the regional body that reviews and verifies each country’s progress towards maintaining a polio-free status. The annual RCC meeting is an opportunity for all 22...

A health worker marks a child's pinkie finger during a polio vaccination campaign, conducted in April 2024 in the Red Sea State, Sudan -WHO/WHO Sudan Photo credit: WHO/WHO Sudan9 May, 2024 – It’s day one of the polio vaccination campaign in Sudan’s Red Sea State, where poliovirus was detected in sewage samples earlier in 2024. At the crack of...

By Dr Hamid Jafari, Director, Polio Eradication, WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region Photo credit: WHO Pakistan28 April 2024  – Each year at the end of April, the global community commemorates World Immunization Week, a milestone that reminds us of what humanity can achieve when we come together and take action for our collective health. Given that...

Credit: WHO/WHO Pakistan 26 March 2024 – To strengthen the fight against polio, health ministers from across the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region gathered virtually for the 10th meeting of the Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks. It was the first meeting of the Subcommittee convened by the new WHO Regional Director for the...

7 March 2024 – Women play central, diverse and multifaceted roles in safeguarding children from polio, proving that investments in women’s capacities and skills translate into investments in strengthening health systems. The stories below highlight some ways in which women are breaking barriers, driving change and inching us closer to a...

5 March 2024 – My name is Farid, and I am 35 years old. I live in the Bati Kot district of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. I contracted polio when I was 3 years old. The symptoms started with a fever, then a weakness in my left leg and in my left hand. While strength eventually returned to my hand, my leg remained weak. My parents took me to the...

A child receives routine immunizations in Mogadishu, Somalia, August 2023. Photo credit: WHO/I. Taxta14 February 2024  – A new investment case shows that successful polio transition in the 8 priority countries of the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region will have a very high return on investment. Economic and social benefits totalling an estimated...