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(2)2 We seem to be approaching the end phase of the polio eradication initiative

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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Address by

DR HUSSEIN A. GEZAIRY REGIONAL DIRECTOR

WHO EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN REGION to the

TENTH MEETING OF THE REGIONAL COMMISSION FOR CERTIFICATION OF POLIOMYELITIS ERADICATION

Cairo, Egypt, 14–15 October 2003

Mr Chairman, Dear Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to welcome you all to the Tenth Meeting of the Regional Commission for Certification of Poliomyelitis Eradication. As you all know, due to security reasons, we could not convene your meeting that was scheduled to be held in April this year. I am thankful to the members of the Commission for their unstinting and continued support for the work of the Commission and to the Chairs of the National Certification Committees, who are here today, for their efforts in compiling and validating their national reports. I would also like to extend a warm welcome to representatives from our partners in the initiative for polio eradication and from WHO headquarters and other regional offices.

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We seem to be approaching the end phase of the polio eradication initiative. Polio is more geographically contained than ever. During 2002, nearly 99% of cases came from just three countries. Within our Region, 18 countries have been free of polio for more than three years. No case has been reported from Sudan for two years and so far this year, no case has been reported from Somalia, a remarkable achievement particularly with the prevailing civil strife and the security problems in that country.

However, cases of wild poliovirus are still being reported from Afghanistan, Egypt, and Pakistan. To date, 2, 1, and 55 cases have respectively been reported from these three countries.

The programme in Pakistan has become stronger over the last couple of years. I was there recently and have impressed upon the national policy makers and health authorities the need to further intensify their efforts so that transmission of wild poliovirus comes to an end by next year.

The imported case reported from Lebanon early this year, and about which you will hear more during your meeting, has reminded us of the ever present danger of importation and of the need for a rapid and appropriate response. The Region faces a considerable threat of importation, and any sense of complacency that polio is no longer a problem in the non-endemic countries must be strictly avoided.

The required level of sensitivity for AFP surveillance that was reached by all the countries in 1999 has continued to improve since then. The regional average AFP rate for 2003 is --- per 100 000 population under 15 years. We are continuously monitoring surveillance through several aspects including surveillance review.

The quality of supplementary immunization activities continued to improve considerably.

Their planning and implementation are being closely monitored through regular meetings of technical advisory groups in which some of the Commission members have regularly participated. You will be briefed about the outcome of these TAG meetings and of the surveillance reviews held since your last meeting.

We were fortunate that in Baghdad, the wild poliovirus isolates and other infectious materials could be located after the looting of laboratory equipment and were subsequently

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incinerated. The laboratory containment activities continue to progress, perhaps not as rapidly as desirable. They were recently reviewed at a meeting of national coordinators. The first phase has been completed in nine countries of the Region and the laboratory survey is under implementation in another seven. In order to ensure that containment activities were of certification standard, these nine countries have been asked to provide a written description of the laboratory survey and inventory phase using the now finalized quality assessment guidelines.

There appears to be a need for refining the process for the laboratory containment component of the certification process and for aligning the work and reporting cycle of the national containment committees with those of the national certification committees. In this connection we are planning to convene a meeting of the chairmen of the national certification committees with national coordinators of laboratory containment of wild poliovirus. I look forward to receiving your views on this subject.

Following a suggestion made at your last meeting in October 2002, I constituted a Regional Technical Advisory Group on Polio Eradication, which had its first meeting in June. I felt that it was a productive meeting and provided useful and up-to-date technical advice on a number of issues connected with polio eradication in the Region. It is planned to hold meetings of this group on an annual basis.

Mr Chairman, dear colleagues, the certification process appears to be moving along on target. It is gratifying to note that another four countries have submitted their national documentation for your review at this meeting. As per your suggestion, we have written to the chairmen of the national certification committees in the remaining endemic countries to initiate the data collection and validation process in order to expedite the preparation and submission of these reports soon after the transmission of wild poliovirus has been interrupted.

In conclusion, I would like to thank you once again for your commitment to polio eradication in the Region and for taking the time from your busy schedules to attend this meeting.

I wish you all a pleasant stay in Cairo and a productive meeting.

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