Eradication of polio in Africa is 'great day,' WHO director general says

[Islander]

Naomi Thomas and Aisha Salaudeen
August 26, 2020

Polio has been declared eradicated from Africa, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.
"Today we come together to rejoice over a historic public health success, the certification of wild poliovirus eradication in the African region," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, said during a livestreamed event.
"The end of wild polio in Africa is a great day," said Tedros, who is also the chair of the polio oversight board. "Your success is the success of the world. None of us could have done this alone."

Keep reading: https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/25/healt...=1598437094013

[Mr. Wizard]

It took 32 yrs. to eradicate polio in Africa--starting from the advent of the Global Eradication Initiative in 1988. Sadly, polio is still endemic in Pakistan & Afghanistan. As we've seen from the spread of COVID-19, no country is safe as long as highly infectious viruses exist anywhere in the world. Global officials (WHO) primarily blame civil wars and internal strife for the failure to eradicate polio in Pakistan & Afghanistan. The major factor for lack of eradication, as I understand it, is the failure of global and/or international agencies to involve local public health officials in the planning and execution of the immunization programs. If you don't get buy in from the locals and the locals perceive that "foreigners" are coming into their country to vaccinate their young, well there's no wonder eradication efforts have failed.