• Globally: 362 cases (223 in 2012)• Endemic countries: 138 cases (217 in 2012)•Pakistan – 77•Afghanistan –11•Nigeria – 50•Non-endemic countries: 224 cases
•Somalia – 183•Kenya – 14•Ethiopia – 6•Syrian Arab Republic -17•Cameroon - 4• WPV1 detected in 96 sewage samples from 27 sampling sites in Israel

Unprecedented progress has been made towards the goal of polio eradication in India.

The last case of polio due to wild polio virus in the country was detected on 13 January 2011 in Howrah district of West Bengal. This monumental progress in polio eradication brings India and the South-East Asia Region of WHO, comprising 11 countries (including India), very close to the polio-free certification.

Contrast this landmark development with estimates that prior to the introduction of the oral polio vaccine in India in 1978, nearly 500 children were being paralyzed due to polio every single day in the country.The programme was intensified and mass polio vaccination campaign launched in 1995. This reduced the number of cases to less than 2000 cases annually, until 2010, when only 42 cases were reported during the year followed by the last polio case in January 2011.

It took India nearly 16 years, since it began its efforts to eradicate polio, to finally get rid of the wild polio viruses from the country. Reaching the vast population with diverse socio-cultural practices, overcoming the physical and social barriers, achieving high vaccination coverage in all areas despite weaknesses in health systems and ensuring coverage of the most vulnerable newborns and migrant populations have been the major challenges that have been overcome by the polio programme in India.

 The more efficacious monovalent oral polio vaccine (mOPV) was introduced in 2005 and the bivalent OPV in 2010 to break the last chains of poliovirus.India is already playing a critical role in the development of the polio end-game strategy, with support from WHO and other partners. The strategy involves a switch from trivalent oral polio vaccine to bivalent oral polio vaccine and a phased withdrawal of the oral polio vaccines from the programme with the possible introduction of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) in routine immunization schedule. India is conducting research to support policy decisions as a major part of the polio end-game strategic planning.The polio eradication programme is a “model of excellence” for other public health initiatives in India and global health interventions as a whole.

This progress in polio eradication cannot afford to pause and we cannot rest on our laurels. It is vitally important for India to continue with the good work until global polio-free certification is achieved.