India achieved one of the biggest achievements in global health- It was certified as polio-free by the World Health Organization(WHO) after three years. Our country, which was once considered the core of the world’s polio problem, is now free of this highly contagious virus. The last case of polio due to wild poliovirus in the country was detected on 13 January 2011 in Howrah district of West Bengal (Rukhsar Khatoon). This monumental progress in polio eradication brings India and the South-East Asia Region of the WHO, comprising 11 countries (including India), very close to the polio-free certification.
This achievement, considering the poverty, sanitation, and population of the country, is no small feat and has set an example for the rest of the countries that are still plagued by the disease, namely Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria.
Credit: Third Party Reference
For a country to be declared polio-free, it should have at least three years of zero polio cases, which means that the virus has died in the environment and new cases, if any, would be caused by infection in another country where it persists. Since the launch of the UN Global Polio Eradication Program in 1988, the cases of polio in India have dropped from 150,000 to 0.“It has taken close to 25 years to reach this far, and it has not been easy”.
India is a vast country, and awareness and education are dismal in rural areas. There have been many naysayers who couldn’t see a solution to the situation, considering all the limitations that surround it. But India has proven everyone wrong. India’s success is arguably its greatest public health achievement and has provided a global opportunity to push for the end of polio.
Stopping polio in India required creativity, perseverance, and professionalism; many of the innovations in polio eradication were sparked by the challenges in India. The lessons from India must now be adapted and implemented through emergency actions to finish polio everywhere. Understanding what went behind this huge feat-how a developing country with limited means but unlimited challenges of population, sanitation, and poverty managed to eradicate the deadly polio virus offers immense learning for the other nations fighting the battle as well.
The oral polio vaccine was introduced in 1978, and in 1985, Rotary International launched its global effort to end polio. In 1997, India established the National Polio Surveillance Project. It established an expert advisory group that monitored the program and continuously evaluated how the disease was behaving across the country. All these efforts showed results.
By 2010, that number dropped to 42, and by 2011, only one case. India has achieved a commendable reduction in global child deaths in recent years, and vaccines have been one of the most effective interventions in this effort. Not only have vaccines prevented deaths, but they’ve also helped children stay healthy. Beyond polio, India’s other great achievements related to vaccines are highlighted in the info graph below.
Credit: Third Party Reference
As vaccine coverage levels rise and new vaccines are introduced into its Universal Immunization Programme, disease rates will decline, and children will lead healthier, longer lives. These inspiring efforts should be applauded along with India’s polio achievement. “ India’s achievements should also inspire the global community to ensure every child around the world is protected from preventable diseases”.
Indians have a unique window of opportunity to change history by eliminating polio from the three remaining countries where transmission has not yet been stopped, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria, and maintaining disease control in other countries where eradication to the full extent is not so easy, and polio threatens to return.
