The Polio Eradication Programme in India is a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), WHO’s National Polio Surveillance Project (NPSP), UNICEF, Rotary International, and the U.S. Centres for Disease Control.
The programme aims to eradicate polio from India by immunizing every child under 5 with the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV). India, together with Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan, is one of the four polio-endemic countries left in the world.
Tremendous progress has been made in the last several years to interrupt polio transmission in India. India is only two states away from being polio free and the virus has become increasingly localized to only 100 blocks of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Eighty per cent of all polio cases in Uttar Pradesh have come from only 10 districts in the western part of the state. In Bihar, 85 per cent of cases have come from six districts centered around the Kosi River area. In 2002, India registered 1,613 polio cases. Today, there are 685 cases per year.
Polio: no place too far This photo feature demonstrates the enormous challenge in reaching children in the high risk areas of Bihar. The trip to Sunita, a polio-affected child in Saharsa in the Kosi river area, was undertaken by SMNet Bihar team members.
Eradicating Polio In 2009, 66 per cent of polio cases nationally occurred in children under two years of age. About 230,000 children are born each month in Bihar, and in U.P., over 400,000 children are born each month
Two states and 100 blocks away from polio-free India UNICEF India Representative, Ms. Karin Hulshof in conversation with Indian Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (IAPPD) (India) talks about the Polio Eradication Initiative in India
Mother- Baby get-togethers Held in all the SMNet blocks of Meerut district, prior to each round of the polio immunization drive, these meetings educate pregnant women on early and exclusive breastfeeding and also encourage lactating mothers to have their babies weighed.
Cricket Champs Advocate to Bowl out Polio Cricket aces championed the cause of polio eradication in Lucknow on the eve of the Ranji Trophy match between Uttar Pradesh and Delhi on November 23, 2009.
Profile of a Special Influencer Over the past four years, Nadeem has been a permanent fixture at the polio booths during the polio rounds in Kandhla block of Muzzafarnagar
“May Allah bless us … and may polio be eradicated from the world…” “May Allah bless us and our children with good health…...and may polio and other dreadful diseases be eradicated from the world. We will pray at Makkah Mukarramah for this”, said Hazrat Syed Shah Shamim Munawi, Sazada-Nashin-Khan-Ka-Munamiya of Patna city
Winning against polio with Razda Begum Razda Begum sits with her decorated white chart paper which has the Mohallah Sufi Khan in Farrukhabad mapped out with its masjids (mosques), public facilities, the “grids” within the area and the “influencers” who work for the polio eradication programme
Mecca-bound Pilgrims call for end of Polio Javed Mian, 65, is a small-time businessman in the Sabzi Bagh locality of Patna, the capital city of the eastern Indian state of Bihar.
Moradabad celebrates win against Polio with Hockey It was not only time for celebration but also time for re-dedication to the cause of polio eradication as former hockey Olympians Zafar Iqbal and Dhanraj Pillai, among others, signed a pledge for polio eradication
Babille Story Irene Babille is a student at the American International School in New Delhi. Earlier this year, she participated in India’s National Polio Eradication Programme, as part of her schools’ community outreach effort...
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Amitabh Bachchan's video on polio
