What to expect from the WHA

Health ministers set to consider plan to secure polio-free world by 2018,

Twenty-five years ago, the World Health Assembly passed a resolution calling for the end of polio – and so the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) was born.

Polio is set to be a key topic of discussion once more at this year’s annual World Health Assembly, with health ministers from the 194 member states of the World Health Organization set to consider the new Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan 2013-2018, as well as a report on recent progress in the battle against polio.

The plan itself has been put together in consultation with a wide range of stakeholders and incorporates lessons learned during the GPEI’s 25 year history – including the strategies that helped India defeat this disease. Among other things, it differs from previous plans in its focus on improving immunization systems, its emphasis on working to end both wild and rare vaccine-derived polioviruses simultaneously, and the inclusions of measures for working around insecurity.

The World Health Assembly is taking place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 20-28 May.