With wild poliovirus transmission at lowest levels ever, Member States and partners at the World Health Organization Executive Board last week discussed measures needed not only to achieve eradication but to sustain it in the long-term.  The Executive Board reviewed the strategic functions which must be sustained to ensure that once polio is eradicated it will remain eradicated, as outlined in the draft Post-Certification Strategy. 

At the same time, Member States reviewed progress towards transition planning, including a comprehensive report that had been prepared by the Director-General of WHO aimed at ensuring the infrastructure established to eradicate polio will continue to benefit broader public health and development issues, even after the disease is gone.

A Strategic Action Plan, including estimated costings on what is needed to keep the world polio-free and sustain progress in other areas like immunization, emergency preparedness and response capacity, will now be developed based on guidance from the Executive Board for presentation to the World Health Assembly in May.  Development of a strategic action plan for both the transition phase and for the post-certification era had been requested by Member States at last year’s World Health Assembly.