WHO certifies African region as wild polio-free; Now Disease occurs only in Pakistan & Afghanistan

WHO certifies African region as wild polio-free; Now Disease occurs only in Pakistan & Afghanistan

• The Africa Regional Certification Commission (ARCC) has declared the African Region of WHO as wild polio-free on 25 August 2020, after no cases were seen in last four years.
• ARCC is a group of 16 members appointed by the World Health Organization, for overseeing the eradication of the wild poliovirus from the African continent.
• Nigeria is the last African country to be declared free from wild polio
• With this historic milestone, five of the six WHO regions are now free of the wild poliovirus.
• As of now, only two countries globally continue to have wild poliovirus and they are Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Source: WHO