WHO South-East Asia Region certified polio-free

WHO South-East Asia Region, home to a quarter of the world’s population, was certified polio-free today by an independent commission under the WHO certification process.

This is the fourth of six WHO Regions to be certified, marking an important step towards global polio eradication.

With this step, 80% of the world’s population now lives in certified polio-free regions.

An independent panel of 11 experts in public health, epidemiology, virology, clinical medicine and related specialties constituting the South-East Asia Regional Certification Commission for Polio Eradication (SEA-RCCPE) met for two days to review evidence from countries before reaching the decision that all 11 countries of the Region are now polio-free and have met the requirements for certification.

WHO’s South-East Asia Region comprises the following 11 Member States: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste