GENEVA, October 25, 2025: Global health authorities have renewed their call to eradicate poliomyelitis completely as the world marked World Polio Day on October 24. The World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) said the disease is closer than ever to elimination, but urgent commitment is still required to reach the last remaining strongholds. According to WHO data, polio cases have been reduced by more than 99 percent since the global eradication effort began in 1988.
At that time, the disease paralyzed an estimated 350,000 children annually in more than 125 countries. Today, only two countries Pakistan and Afghanistan continue to report wild poliovirus transmission, with 36 cases confirmed worldwide so far in 2025. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the global community has the tools and experience to finish what began more than three decades ago. “Decades ago, the world overcame geopolitical and geographic barriers to end smallpox. Let’s do the same for polio. Let’s finish the job,” he said in a statement.
Global healthcare experts have warned that sustained political will and funding are essential to preserve the progress made. The GPEI reported a 30 percent shortfall in its projected 2026 budget, driven by declining donor contributions and competing global health priorities. Officials cautioned that reductions in financial support could threaten surveillance capacity and vaccination coverage in areas still vulnerable to outbreaks. WHO’s Southeast Asia Regional Director, Dr. Catharina Boehme, called on governments to reinforce immunization drives and maintain high levels of surveillance.
WHO calls for renewed global commitment to end polio
She said the region, which has remained polio-free since 2014, must continue to safeguard this achievement through routine vaccination, robust monitoring, and cross-border coordination. In Africa, the WHO Regional Office reported significant progress in curbing outbreaks of type-2 poliovirus. The number of affected countries dropped from 24 in 2024 to 14 this year, with detections down by more than half. Despite these gains, officials underscored the need for sustained vigilance, noting that any lapse in immunization could allow the virus to reemerge.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a partnership between WHO, UNICEF, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Rotary International, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has led coordinated vaccination campaigns reaching billions of children. Since its inception, the initiative has immunized more than 3 billion children globally, averting an estimated 20 million cases of paralysis and 1.5 million deaths. Health ministers from the Eastern Mediterranean Region met this month to reaffirm their commitment to polio eradication, identifying the upcoming months as critical to achieving global certification.
WHO stresses importance of sustained vaccination efforts
They urged countries to prioritize immunization, strengthen laboratory networks, and ensure rapid response capacity to any detected cases. The WHO said its teams continue to work closely with national governments, health workers, and community organizations to address logistical challenges in areas affected by insecurity, conflict, or population displacement. Efforts are also underway to integrate polio vaccination with broader public health services to maintain community trust and expand routine immunization.
WHO officials emphasized that the final stages of eradication are often the most difficult, requiring continued international cooperation and transparent data sharing. They added that every unvaccinated child represents a potential risk to global progress. With global incidence now at historic lows, health leaders reiterated that the tools, vaccines, and infrastructure to end polio are already in place. The focus, they said, must remain on ensuring every child is reached and every transmission chain is stopped.
On World Polio Day, WHO renewed its appeal for unity and funding to achieve a world free of the disease that once paralyzed hundreds of thousands each year. The message from Geneva was clear: the finish line is within sight, but collective action is required to ensure polio becomes only the second human disease to be eradicated after smallpox, reaffirming global health solidarity and the urgent need for sustained vaccination and surveillance efforts worldwide. – By EuroWire News Desk.