Nepal must sustain polio surveillance and immunisation efforts to protect its polio-free status, particularly given the risk of the virus entering through cross-border movement, a senior World Health Organization official has said.
Prof Dr Srijana Shrestha, chairperson of the WHO South-East Asia Regional Certification Commission for Polio Eradication, made the remarks in a video message released on World Polio Day on Saturday.
She said Nepal's progress in eradicating polio needed continued vigilance, as the virus persists elsewhere in the world and could cross into the country.
Shrestha stressed the need to ensure routine immunisation reaches every child, particularly those in remote and high-risk communities. She also called for stronger acute flaccid paralysis surveillance, regular reviews of surveillance data and prompt responses to any detection of the virus.
With global financial support for polio eradication changing, she said Nepal must preserve its surveillance systems, laboratory services, immunisation programmes and outbreak response capacity. The infrastructure and expertise developed through polio eradication should also be used to strengthen surveillance and responses to other vaccine-preventable diseases.
