Lets Recommit to Polio's Eradication

Global health leaders recently discussed the final steps needed to eradicate polio during an event titled "United to Finish the Job: High-Level Side Event on Polio Eradication," which was co-hosted by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).

Leadership from the GPEI emphasized the need for sustained funding to complete the eradication effort, highlighting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's pledge of $500 million to the GPEI. This funding, along with that from other critical donors, is enabling the partnership to reach hundreds of millions of children each year with lifesaving polio vaccines and ultimately end the transmission of the virus.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, commented in a press release on September 22, 2025, "Polio eradication is a shared responsibility."

"We can finish the job only through sustained collaboration and commitment from donors such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has been an essential supporter through its critical political, social, technical, and financial contributions."

The focus was on the urgent need to end wild polio transmission in Afghanistan and Pakistan, while also addressing outbreaks of variant poliovirus in fragile settings across Africa and Asia.

These countries and others were highlighted in the U.S. CDC's Global Polio Travel Health Notice, Level 2 - Practice Enhanced Precautions. The CDC identified 39 countries where poliovirus remains a health risk.

The CDC list includes the United Kingdom, which has previously reported detections of poliovirus in wastewater samples in London.

The CDC recommends that before any international travel, you ensure you are up to date on your polio vaccines. Adults who have previously completed the entire routine polio vaccine series may receive a single lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine.