NEW DELHI: India was taken off a list of polio endemic countries by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Saturday, marking a massive victory for health workers battling the crippling disease.
"This gives us hope that we can finally eradicate polio not only from India but from the face of the earth," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.
The announcement leaves just three countries with endemic polio -- Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.
India, which last reported a fresh polio case more than 12 months ago, now will have to remain polio free for the next two years to be judged to have eradicated the disease, WHO representative in India Natela Menabde said.
"The government of India has coordinated a massive effort to rid our country of the terrible scourge of polio that has scarred the lives of thousands of thousands of children in India," Singh told a polio summit in New Delhi.
But "the real credit" for India's success in tackling polio goes to the volunteers who repeatedly vaccinated children, he said.
They visited slums and railway stations, construction sites and bus stops, using all means of transport to reach even the most far-flung corners of one of the world's most crowded and impoverished countries.
The success of the effort shows that "team work pays," Singh said.
Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said he received a letter stating that the "WHO has taken India's name off the list of polio endemic countries in view of the remarkable progress that we have made during the past one year."
Polio -- which afflicts mainly the under-fives causing death, paralysis and crippled limbs -- travels easily across borders and is transmitted via the fecal matter of victims.
India has been a frequent exporter to other developing countries, but has also been re-infected from abroad. The ancient disease was wiped out from the 1970s in developed countries through successful vaccination campaigns.
In 2009, India accounted for half of all cases in the world, but infections plummeted to 42 in 2010 and none in the last 12 months.
The Indian government has spent $2 billion over the last 10-15 years on polio eradication efforts.
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Everyone there in Pakistan please go through this link form this very same Newspaper.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/340256/pakistans-polio-predicament/
@adam: its free. unlike where poverty is muilti dimensional, in india poverty is uni-dimensional. yes poor do earn less but they get free health care facilities and other facilities for which rich and middle class needs to pay. unlike pakistan where everyone pays and poors are deprived of facilities. moreover check new stats, even pakistan got 60% people under MULTI DIMENSIONAL POVERTY
@Whatthewhaa: Ignorance is bliss in your case. fYi, the country is one in three countries which are still affected by polio. I pray and wish Pak comes out polio free just as its neighbor.
Congratulations to the people of India!!
I would say that it's better for educated masses in developing nations to concentrate on issues such as polio,pollution and population growth rather than fate of cricket teams. In the latter case, both Indians and Pakistanis show same sort of obsession, the talk of the town would be is Zaka Asharf doing a fine job or is Sachin going to make 100th century this time.
@adam:
Yes they are. As are all the other vaccines that the Government of Pakistan gives. Which by the way are at least as good in quality as anywhere else in the World, including US and Europe. We just find ways to not allow our children to get them.
@Whatthewhaa:
Its a bigger problem in Pakistan. We have a third of all cases in the World
@ John B
dont be offended, Zaid Hamid is speaking the mind of Zaid Hamid. Not meant to offend anybody. :)
The baby in the photograph is cute.... And India needs to be vigilant for 2 more years.....
one more thing i would like to mention is that the union health minister of india is a "KASHMIRI" :) Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad !! kudos to him !!! well done
@adam: yes they are free to poor, and even to visiting pakistanis.
Proud to be a Rotarian . As Rotarians we have all participated in this pulse polio campaign for the last decade or more, Honest efforts pay. What about Rotarians of Pakistan
@Saif: Pakistan will be taken off the list as soon as it gets rid of polio in country.I hope it happens sooner than later.
It is the most heart-wrenching to see any child suffer from polio and other serious diseases. I am glad no Indian child ever has to go through this horribly debilitating disease. I also hope that, soon, this disease will be eradicated from the whole world.
Good work India!
@zaid hamid: Indian government allotted $600 million/ year for this campaign. What was learnt in India in small pox vaccination was duplicated in the rest of the developing world in eradication of small pox and now Polio campaign is being duplicated in other parts of the world.
Congratulations to India ! It should have been achieved in Pakistan as well by now. Explains where the commitments of our authorities are......
@Saif: for getting a country's name off the list you need to prove it to them that you actually are polio free.. its unfortunate for us that we still get to see new polio cases every year from even the most developed of the districts.. and another problem faced by our Pakistan is that the people still dont want to get their children vaccinated.. especially in areas of south punjab, rural sindh and far flung villages in kpk.. what we as a community can do about it is to educate the masses about getting vaccinated on every polio day.. and make sure that all children around us get them everytime.. we will in shaa ALLAH see a day when Pakistan's name be struck off the list too..
Hope the drops were free for a more than 60% poor who earn less than 1 dollar a day.
Good Job to the Health Ministry and the thousands of Volunteers and Health Workers! Next target - eliminate poverty!!
@Saif: "We should demand that Pakistan too must be taken off the list. India Pakistan must get equal treatment from world community."
Unclear if you are being sarcstic or serious. If yu are serious - just fyi - there were 100 + polio cases in Pakistan last year. Even for India this has been a long journey which was successfully completed after a lot of focussed effort. I am sure that Pakistan will also succeed.
@zaid hamid : I usually enjoy your sarcasm. But tas a fellow Indian, I feel that this was a time for grace not gloating.
Now that is progress - congratulations.
and all we are concerned about is cricket.
Israel paid lots of dUS dollars for it. India Israel n America are conspiring.
Kudos to them. Hopefully, the comments will remain free of envy or personal attacks
We should demand that Pakistan too must be taken off the list. India Pakistan must get equal treatment from world community.
So? Why is it published here? Last time I checked, polio wasn't as big a problem in Pak compared to India
in this field i seriously want pakistan to catch up with india fast
this is really awesome instead of having so many problems like poverty, attacks from terrorists and such a diversity finally India has irradiated polio from the entire 1.2 billion population
im proud that sacrifices of the people and so much criticism that India can never irradiate polio has proved wrong not just in words but in deeds
today I feel proud as an Indian that no matter how difficult and messed up things can be we are at least making an effort and moving in the right direction not just economically, but socially and culturally and that to as a democratic country ..
i admit a lot more has to be done and is being done and will be done we aint perfect country but we will be a perfect country in the next 10 years :)
Kudos