Tools, Protocols and Guidelines: Strategies

This document complements the original Polio Eradication Strategy 2022–2026. The Strategy Committee and Polio Oversight Board (POB) of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) have decided to extend the timeline for certifying the eradication of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) to the end of 2027 and certifying the elimination of circulating type 2 variant poliovirus (cVDPV2) – also known as vaccine-derived poliovirus – to the end of 2029.

The GPEI stands at a crossroads, needing new approaches to overcome the last remaining hurdles and achieve polio eradication. In the final two endemic countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan, WPV1 persists alongside cVDPV2. Globally, cVDPV2 outbreaks are occurring in four of the six geographical regions of WHO