The World Health Organisation (WHO) has on Tuesday announced that the African Continent is free from the Poliomyelitis, also known as "wild poliovirus" after the last confirmed case re-emerged four years ago in Northeastern Nigeria. The official declaration is set to take place in a videoconference led by the Director-General of WHO, Tedros Adham Ghebreyesus, and global dignitaries and philanthropist including, Microsoft's Bill Gates are expected to be in attendance.
In a statement, WHO said, "Thanks to the relentless efforts by governments, donors, frontline health workers and communities, up to 1.8 million children have been saved from the crippling life-long paralysis."
The declaration will be the second time a virus would be eradicated in Africa following the eradication of smallpox, four decades ago. This will leave countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan as the remaining nations still suffering from the disease.
Polio is an infectious water-borne disease that attacks the spinal cord causing irreversible paralysis in children.
However, this declaration only means that the continent has been rid of the wild poliovirus, Africa still records cases of the vaccine-derived poliovirus, which is rare but is contained in the oral polio vaccine.
Countries experiencing this form of polio include Nigeria, Togo, Zambia, Burkina Faso, Congo, Ethiopia, Chad, Ivory Coast, Angola, Benin, Cameroun, Mali, Ghana, Niger, Guinea, and the Central African Republic.
