Chair and Members of the South-East Asia Regional Certification Commission for Poliomyelitis Eradication
- Chairs of National Certification Committees for Poliomyelitis Eradication
- Representatives of Poliovirus Containment Authorities
- Representatives of Ministry of Health, Nepal
- Representatives of donor and partner agencies
- Colleagues from WHO headquarters, Regional Offices, and the Country Office for Nepal
Good morning, and welcome to this 17th meeting of the WHO South-East Asia Regional Certification Commission for Poliomyelitis Eradication (RCCPE).
I would like to start by thanking the Chair and all the members of the RCCPE, for the oversight and guidance you provide for a polio-free South-East Asia.
Since it was certified in 2014, our region continues to be free of wild polioviruses. This is due to the dedication and commitment of our Member States and their polio programme staff. It is also because of the oversight provided by the National Certification Committees for Polio Eradication, and of course, the support and resolve of donors and partners.
I would like to express my gratitude and commend you all.
Globally, polio remains a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Wild poliovirus type 1 is still endemic in two countries and poses an importation risk to our region. There are also several outbreaks of circulating vaccine derived polioviruses – especially of type 2 – in 35 countries as of today. One of these countries is in our region, and has been aggressively responding, per global guidelines. Thank you to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative for the effort and support.
Our region continues to remain on track with all the key strategies for polio eradication.
Today, the overall regional coverage of the bivalent oral polio vaccine and the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), through routine immunization, has surpassed pre-pandemic levels. However, it remains sub-optimal in some countries, and subnational variations in coverage continue to remain across the region.
To ensure high population immunity, especially against type 2 poliovirus, seven countries in our region are now providing at least two doses of IPV. The remaining countries are also at various stages of planning for introducing second dose of IPV.
After certification of polio-free status in 2014, we are now transitioning from vertical polio programs to integration with broder immunization and public health programs.
Considering that we have vaccine manufacturing countries - and risk of polio virus materials in laboratory settings - we are also ensuring containment according to global guidelines. The Terms of Reference of this commission have therefore been extended to examining the polio transition and containment situation in the region and guide the program accordingly.
We have thus, for the first-time, invited representatives from poliovirus containment authorities of our Member States. I welcome all of you.
My message to all polio stakeholders is to continue collaborate at all levels. Please ensure resources are available for implementation of the global and regional guidelines on sustaining polio free status. Ensure that core skills and capacity are maintained in all countries and implement the global guidelines for containment to ensure effective laboratory containment.
To facilitate these outcomes, I ask this Commission, first, to conduct an in-depth review of the performance of activities required to maintain polio-free status, including surveillance, immunization coverage, and outbreak preparedness.
Second, please assess the impact of efforts to strengthen essential polio activities, especially at subnational level. Consider whether such impact is adequate, or whether additional action is required.
Third, I ask you to assess the risks to our region of any probable polio transmission, and actions required to mitigate these.
Fourth, please deliberate on progress in facility containment of polioviruses.
And finally, consider how best to enable polio-funded networks to strengthen wider immunization systems and carry out other public health functions. This will help our region also achieve other goals under the global Immunization Agenda 2030, and the Regional Vaccine Implementation Plan 2022-2026.
RCCPE – and all polio stakeholders – can be certain of WHO’s ongoing and unstinting support for a polio-free South-East Asia, and a polio-free world. My team and I remain by your side in this endeavour.
Thank you.