Wild poliovirus type 3 certified eradicated on World Polio Day

Today, on World Polio Day, Rotary and its Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) partners announced that wild poliovirus type 3 (WPV3) has been eradicated worldwide.

WPV3 is only the third infectious human disease-causing pathogen to be eradicated in history, following smallpox and wild poliovirus type 2.

This achievement means that two of the three wild polio strains have now been wiped out, an important marker of progress against the disease.

The announcement comes on the heels of recent news that Nigeria has gone three years without a case of wild poliovirus, which means that the entire African region could be certified wild poliovirus-free in 2020.

UK Government pledges £400m to support polio eradication

The Department for International Development has pledged up to £400 million worth of UK aid to help eliminate polio worldwide.

This new package of UK aid, which will go towards the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, will support 20 million health workers and volunteers to deliver potentially life-saving vaccinations to 400 million children per year around the world between 2020 and 2023.

Donna Wallbank, President of Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland said: “This pledge is a huge vindication of all the effort that Rotary clubs and volunteers have made across the country by hosting events and raising awareness, not only on World Polio Day last month, but for years.”