Staff Writer
Last month, India was officially
declared polio-free by the World Health Organization. The last polio diagnosis occurred in 2011 and
since then there have been no new polio cases.
This achievement is a major
milestone for India since health workers considered it the hardest place to eliminate
polio. Because of India’s large
impoverished population, polio can spread quickly. In recent years, health officials have
tried to find solutions to the problems that were preventing people from
getting vaccinated. They discovered that
children living in areas that were difficult to reach were not getting
vaccinated and began an effort to vaccinate them. They launched a surveillance network with the
help of two million vaccine administrators to help them reach all the areas
that hadn’t been vaccinated.
The health officials also educated people on
the importance of getting vaccinated.
Some minority groups believed that the vaccine was an attempt to curb
the minority population by making women infertile. To dispel these rumors, health workers used
communication and outreach programs with the help of various movie celebrities
and cricket players that are popular in India.
Several United Nations agencies and philanthropic organizations also
helped with educating the importance of a vaccine.
The attempt to eradicate polio in
India began in 1988 when 200,000 children every year were diagnosed with the
disease.
