August 25, 2020
The World Health Organization has officially certified the Africa region to be free of wild poliovirus.
This milestone comes four years after Nigeria — the last polio-endemic country in Africa — recorded its final case of wild polio. It’s a significant step forward in the fight to eradicate polio and protect the world’s children from this paralyzing disease.
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This incredible achievement is the result of a decades-long commitment by Rotary members, working with our partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), African region leaders, and millions of dedicated health care workers and supporters. Read more.Now that the African region is free of wild poliovirus, five of WHO’s six regions, representing more than 90 percent of the world’s population, are now free of the disease. Polio caused by the wild virus is still endemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan, in the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean region.
Watch this short video.
To better understand Rotary's extraordinary role in helping the world to end 99.9% of polio, watch this free 25 min. documentary: Dare to Dream, How Rotary Became the Heart and Soul of Polio Eradication, Dare To Dream.