The World Health Organisation (WHO) has commended South Africa for maintaining polio free status. The message was delivered at the 13th inter-country certificate committee meeting in Johannesburg this morning.
Present at the two day meeting are representatives of the WHO, national institute for communicable diseases South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho and pharmaceutical companies Sanofi and Pasteur. The meeting is aimed at reviewing progress on polio certification at country, regional and global levels. "We would like to congratulate South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho for working tirelessly towards achieving polio free status. We urge you to work just as hard towards maintaining this status and keep high alert with good surveillance to keep polio out of our region," said Dr Nicholas Eseko, the WHO representative.
South Africa received their polio free status in 2006 from the WHO.
"Today, we can be collectively proud of the remarkable achievements of our three countries. All three countries have successfully presented to the African regional certification commission and have been declared free of wild poliovirus which causes paralysis," said the Deputy Minister of Health Dr Molefi Sefularo.
The Deputy Minister added that the Department of Health needed to strengthen its efforts at district and sub-district levels, revive the spirit of voluntarism, and expand the immunisation programme by increasing coverage to more than 90 percent to ensure that no child is missed, among other things.
"No child should be denied his or her right to be immunised and to be protected against vaccine preventable diseases," said Dr Sefularo. The World Health Assembly in 1988 launched the global polio eradication initiative the single, largest internationally coordinated public health initiative to-date. This was the time when polio was endemic in 125 countries worldwide, in five continents, paralysing more than a 1 000 children every day.
Today, 20 years later, there are only four countries which are Nigeria, India, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the world, which are still endemic to the wild poliovirus. This remains a grave concern and a risk to the whole world.
The global polio eradication initiative is considering revising travel advisories to include that travellers form polio infected countries should produce proof of vaccination against polio. Although this is not yet a rule of law, Dr Sefularo supported the idea and told the journalists that it would be a wise and safe move in the light of the coming 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Issued by: Department of Health
27 July 2009
Source: Department of Health (http://www.doh.gov.za/)
