Acknowledging the critical role of leadership in gender mainstreaming, the GPEI launched a Gender Champion for Polio Eradication movement. Our Champions commit to supporting the GPEI Gender Equality Strategy, highlighting the role of gender in achieving eradication and advocating for its full implementation.
The twenty-sixth meeting of the Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) on the international spread of poliovirus was convened and opened by the WHO Deputy Director-General on 14 October 2020 with committee members attending via video conference. Take a look at the Committee’s latest report.
In our latest edition of Coffee with Polio Experts, we get to hear from Dr Zubair Wadood on the impact of COVID-19 on the global polio eradication effort, and how the polio infrastructure is supporting COVID response.
Afghanistan:
No wild Poliovirus type 1 cases was reported this week. There have been 53 WPV1 cases reported in 2020 so far while the total number of cases reported in 2019 remains 29
Two WPV1 positive environmental samples were reported; one each in Kandahar and Nangarhar.
No case of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) was reported this week. There have been 101 cVDPV2 cases reported in 2020 so far.
One cVDPV2 positive environmental samples was reported in Kandahar.
Pakistan:
No wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case was reported this week. There are 79 WPV1 cases reported in 2020 so far while the total number of cases reported in 2019 cases remains 147.
18 WPV1 positive environmental samples were reported; three in Balochistan, one each in Islamabad and Khyber Pakhtoon, eight in Punjab and five in Sindh.
16 cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) were reported; one in Balochistan, five in Punjab and 10 in Sindh. There are 80 cVDPV2 cases reported in 2020 so far while the 2019 case count remains 22.
No cVDPV2 positive environmental samples were reported this week.
Officially reported WPV cases as of 13 OCTOBER
Total global WPV1 cases in 2020: 132 (compared with 96 for the same period in 2019) Total global WPV1 cases in 2019: 176
