How Polio Officials Pivot Against COVID-19

World Polio Day, October 24, is a day when the world gathers to celebrate the determination that has brought 99% of the road to polio eradication and looks back at the heights we must scale to completely defeat the disease. is.

This year Africa was declared Free of wild poliovirus, Testimony of the outstanding achievements of thousands of healthcare professionals and their supporters over the decades.

Nonetheless, 2020 could be the toughest year polio eradicaters have ever faced. In the last eight months, vaccination services have been devastated.Estimated 80 million children under 1 year old You may have missed an important vaccine. Vaccine-preventable diseases, including polio, are prevalent in the most vulnerable situations. This year, new outbreaks of vaccine-derived polio were detected in regions of the Eastern Mediterranean and Africa, including Yemen, Sudan and South Sudan.

WHO is working closely with governments to urgently respond to outbreaks affected in the early stages of the pandemic and restore immunization systems. In the face of significant pandemic budget shortages and increased costs of implementing medical interventions, responding to both polio and measles outbreaks requires additional funding and urgent action.

In the following, you will learn about the efforts of polio personnel around the world to provide polio vaccines and bridge the immune gap while continuing to fight COVID-19.

Nasrin Ahmadi, District Polio Officer, Afghanistan

“I chose to continue public health awareness during the COVID-19 pandemic. I wanted to help save people’s lives and continue to serve them,” said Balkh, Afghanistan. Says Nasrin Ahmadi, a Polio worker and COVID-19 compliant volunteer.

Eight months after the first COVID-19 case was reported in Afghanistan, frontline workers in the polio program continue to support outbreaks. During the pandemic, Nasrin undertook an additional task of identifying suspected cases of COVID-19, sharing accurate information with the community, and tracking individuals returning from abroad to promote quarantine. Throughout, she has continued to educate her family about the importance of polio vaccination.

Read more about Nasrin

Read more about the polio and measles integration campaign in Somalia

Dr. Samleen Haril, Head of Polio Eradication in Pakistan

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Pakistani polio team has been supporting COVID-19 and continuing to eradicate polio.

At Peshawar, the team adapted an existing acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) monitoring network built into hospitals and healthcare facilities to detect COVID-19 and polio. Polio staff, such as Dr. Samleen Haril, have helped with testing and trained healthcare professionals in infection prevention and control. A national polio data management system and a call center in the capital Islamabad can help address erroneous information and detect suspected cases of COVID-19.

Sylvester Maregemi Polio Team Leader in South Sudan

In Africa, polio eradication programs have a long history of responding to outbreaks of other illnesses and health emergencies. With unmatched technical expertise, disease monitoring and logistics capabilities, and an extensive community network, polio teams are in the best position to mobilize large-scale emergency responses to COVID-19 while maintaining polio eradication efforts. It was in.

Dr. Sylvester Maregemi, WHO Polio Team Leader in South Sudan, explains: “Across Africa, polio infrastructure and staff are located in districts and states, down to the national level, so whenever an outbreak occurs, the polio team will respond first.”

As the pandemic progresses, polio staff and resources around the world will continue to work on COVID-19, removing all forms of polio from the world, bridging immunity gaps and contributing to universal health insurance.

Read more about African polio infrastructure

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The extraordinary support from the global donor community and the great efforts of healthcare professionals, parents and local leaders have provided 99% of the road to polio eradication worldwide. World Polio Day, the World Polio Eradication Initiative, with which WHO is a key partner, would like to thank everyone for their efforts to achieve a polio-free world.

For more information World Polio Eradication Initiative And WHO’s efforts to eradicate polio..