Opening Remarks by Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa
Good morning and good afternoon everyone. Thank you for joining us for this press briefing.
I’m very pleased to be joined by Prof Rose Leke, who is the Chairperson of the Africa Regional Certification Commission at this very important time, as tomorrow the Commission is set to certify the WHO African Region wild poliovirus-free.
This will be a momentous milestone for Africa. It marks only the second eradication of a virus from the surface of the continent since smallpox 40 years ago. Now future generations of African children can live free of wild poliovirus.
The journey towards this momentous achievement started in 24 years ago, in 1996, when African Heads of State endorsed the Yaounde Declaration, and thereby committed to eradicating polio from Africa.
In the same year, President Nelson Mandela and Rotary International launched the Kick Polio Out of Africa campaign. This was a real game changer in rallying partners, donors, Member States and communities around this noble cause.
Since then, governments, partners and communities have strengthened surveillance systems and supported extensive vaccination campaigns, preventing 1.8 million cases of polio-related paralysis.
Thousands of frontline health workers and vaccinators have led us to this point. Many have made significant sacrifices in the fight against polio, including those who lost their lives.
To honour their memory and their legacy, we now need to finish polio once and for all, by accelerating action towards global polio eradication, and stopping the threat of circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses. Currently, 16 Africa countries are responding to outbreaks of vaccine-derived polioviruses, which are a less common form of polio that affects populations where there is poor sanitation and low immunization coverage.
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the response to some of these outbreaks, with the suspension of vaccination campaigns. As we improve our understanding and build capacities in the response to COVID-19, it is time to look at restarting these campaigns, and ensuring that appropriate precautions are put in place for healthcare workers and communities.
I would also like to mention that the skills, experience, and technologies used in eradicating polio are a tremendous asset to global health. Already they are being leveraged to support the COVID-19 response, to strengthen routine immunization and to build health system resilience in Africa.
Eradication of polio from the African Region, is a timely reminder of the incredible things we can achieve by mobilizing a massive community of dedicated people to work towards a shared goal. I would like to commend and appreciate the contributions of every person who has helped kick wild polio out of Africa.
I thank you again for having joined us, and thank you for your attention.