Statement For Regional Director, WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region: Poliomyelitis

21 MAY 2026

Chair, Your Excellencies, Director-General,

We are closer to polio eradication than ever, but the final stretch demands exceptional operational discipline and sustained political commitment. The remaining reservoirs are the hardest to access, the most politically complex, and the most unforgiving of operational gaps.

Wild poliovirus transmission is declining. Afghanistan and Pakistan reported 99 WPV1 cases in 2024, 52 in 2025, and just six cases as of 10 May 2026.

Transmission is now limited to a small number of high-risk areas, particularly along cross-border corridors between the two countries.

In April 2026, despite insecurity and geopolitical tensions, Afghanistan and Pakistan carried out synchronized campaigns reaching nearly 58 million children, alongside measles vaccination and vitamin A supplementation.

In Pakistan, the number of inaccessible children in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has fallen by more than 60% in the past year.

Beyond the two endemic countries, the Region has maintained vaccination and outbreak response in some of the world's most difficult humanitarian settings.

In Gaza, campaigns reached more than 600,000 children after cVDPV2 was detected, with no further detections through surveillance since March 2025.

Egypt successfully interrupted cVDPV2 transmission in 2025, showing what rapid response and strong national leadership can achieve.

Regional coordination through the Horn of Africa and Yemen platform has strengthened joint campaigns, surveillance, and cross-border information sharing.

Wastewater surveillance has also expanded in countries including Oman and Tunisia, strengthening early warning systems.

Yet serious challenges remain. In Yemen, a cVDPV2 outbreak has paralyzed more than 450 children, most of them in northern governorates where no mass vaccination campaign has been possible since 2022. I urge Member States to continue raising the need for access as a priority.

Yesterday and today, I have listened carefully to Member States urging WHO to prioritize polio eradication, and we are doing exactly that.

The Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks, which I chair, continues to sustain the high-level political will and accountability this effort requires.

The Pakistan-Afghanistan Health Dialogue is translating that commitment into operational action aligning strategies along the population movement corridors that connect the two countries and that remain central to interrupting the final chains of transmission.

We are also accelerating integration of polio and immunization functions. Multi-antigen campaigns and initiatives such as the Big Catch-Up are increasingly reaching zero-dose and under-immunized children. Several countries including Iraq, Libya and Syria have already transitioned polio functions to domestic financing, demonstrating that polio infrastructure, when embedded in health systems, delivers lasting returns.

The Polio Legacy Challenge in Afghanistan takes this further using the eradication programme as a platform to expand primary health care and strengthen the health infrastructure that will endure long after the last case.

Funding gaps also pose a serious risk. The progress achieved over decades can quickly unravel without predictable financing.

Alongside core GPEI partners and longstanding donors, I would like to thank the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the State of Qatar, KSRelief, and the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity for their support and solidarity.

I also thank Monaco for renewing its support and China and other countries for sharing lessons from their successful vaccination programmes and supporting global eradication efforts through in-kind vaccine donations and technical support.

Excellencies, to finally end polio, we must sustain access, close funding gaps, maintain operational discipline, and reach every last child. If we do that together, we will finish the job.