Progress in Polio Eradication: A New Era in Global Health

Strategic Insights -

Thirty-five years ago, polio was a major public health concern, paralyzing around 350,000 children per year. However, since the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1995, the number of polio cases has dropped by more than 99 percent, with only 36 cases reported so far in 2025. Despite this progress, challenges remain in certain regions of the world, and the global community must continue its efforts to eradicate polio.

Key Takeaways:

  • The number of polio cases has dropped by more than 99 percent since the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1995.
  • Only 36 cases of polio have been reported so far in 2025.
  • The WHO European region achieved polio-free status in 2002 and has remained free of endemic spread of the virus since then.
  • Vaccination coverage in the European region decreased in 2024, leaving over 450,000 babies unprotected.
  • A ban on house-to-house immunization in Afghanistan has resulted in over one million children being missed by polio vaccination campaigns since May 2018.
  • 90 percent and 75 percent of Afghanistan's type 1 polio cases in 2019 and 2020 originated in areas not currently accessible for vaccination.
  • WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says that "let's finish the job" of eradicating polio.
  • Dr. Catharina Boehme, WHO's head in Southeast Asia, calls upon member states to recommit to immunization campaigns and invest in surveillance and health systems.

Statistics:

  • 350,000: The number of children paralyzed by polio per year before the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
  • 36: The number of polio cases reported so far in 2025.
  • 99 percent: The decrease in polio cases since the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
  • 450,000: The number of babies left unprotected due to decreased vaccination coverage in the European region in 2024.
  • 2018: The year the ban on house-to-house immunization was implemented in Afghanistan.
  • 1 million: The number of children missed by polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan since May 2018.

Sources:

  • World Health Organization (WHO)
  • United Nations
  • "World Polio Day: Eliminating polio requires continued commitment" (Mil OSI United Nations News)
  • "Global Polio Eradication Initiative" (World Health Organization)
  • "Polio Eradication Strategy 2022-2026" (World Health Organization)