Polio Eradication Efforts in India

With the global initiative of eradication of polio in 1988 following World Health Assembly resolution, pulse polio immunization program was launched in India in 1995 with goal to eradicate Polio from the world. This involves a high risk population that is children in the age group of 0-5 years, were administered polio drops on a single day through out the nation.

India is working on four pillars of polio eradication:

• Routine immunization
• Supplementary immunization
• Surveillance
• Target mop-up campaign

With continuous efforts, India has been removed from the list of polio-endemic countries. India continues to hold one NID and two Sub National Immunization Days for polio every year to maintain population immunity against wild poliovirus and to sustain its polio-free status.