In 1988, the international community united under the leadership of the World Health Organization (WHO) with the goal of eradicating polio. World Polio Day, which falls on October 24, raises awareness of the progress that has been made and the challenges that remain to stop the spread.
Polio can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis, most often in children.
Slow down, but the fight must go on
“Decades ago, the world overcame geopolitical and geographic barriers to eradicate smallpox. Let’s do the same for polio. Let’s finish the jobsaid WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Three decades ago, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative was established and is now led by the WHO and other non-US organizations and governments.
Since the launch of the initiative, the number of polio cases has fallen by more than 99 percent, with only 36 cases of the virus reported so far in 2025.
However, some regions of the world are still struggling to eradicate polio, and those that have succeeded must continue to support public health authorities in disease surveillance and prevention, WHO says.
Dr. Catharina Boehme, who heads the WHO in Southeast Asia, called on member states to commit to immunization campaigns and invest in surveillance and health systems.
“Together we can protect all children from polio, everywhere – and build a healthier and more resilient future for all,” she said.
Gaps in immunization coverage
While the WHO European Region achieved polio-free status in 2002 and has been free of endemic spread of the virus since then, vaccination coverage in the region declined in 2024, leaving over 450,000 babies unprotected.
In Afghanistan, a ban on door-to-door vaccination has resulted in over a million children being missed in southern areas of polio vaccination campaigns since May 2018, according to WHO’s Polio Eradication Strategy 2022-2026.
As a result, in 2019 and 2020, respectively, 90 percent and 75 percent of Afghanistan’s type 1 polio cases occurred in areas currently unavailable for vaccination.
“Gaps in immunization coverage leave children vulnerable and pose a health security risk to our region and beyond.
“We must not return to a time when polio regularly threatened lives and overwhelmed health systems,” said Ihor Perehinets, WHO/Europe Regional Relief Director.
