The World Health Organization (WHO) Tuesday said the number of polio cases has decrease to 31% in the last 12 month.
WHO Representative in Nigeria, Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo, made this known in a press release to commemorate World Polio Day in Abuja.
“As we mark this World Polio Day, let us renew our efforts to Make Polio History, in Africa. Although one case of polio is one too many, this year, we have seen a decrease in the number of detections in our region. From 438 circulating variant polio cases reported this time last year (end of September 2022) to 304 cases in the same period this year.
“These results offer hope that the African Region will halt poliovirus circulation, to reach the global goal of polio eradication,” the statement reads.
WHO said in this last mile, we can’t rest on our laurels because 21 countries in the African region are still experiencing circulating variant polio outbreaks at this very moment. Some of them are in areas that have not seen any previous circulation in decades.
“The COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected our fight, too, leading to a dip in population immunity and a resurgence of certain poliovirus types. This, combined with challenges related to vaccine availability, has heightened transmission risks. Last year’s wild polio cases in Malawi and Mozambique were a stark reminder that until the world is wild polio-free, all countries and regions remain at risk, he said.