Challenges to polio eradication
Health experts agree that these primary challenges must be overcome in order to reach the goal of polio eradication:
- Halting the spread of the poliovirus in the four remaining endemic countries (Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan), which continue to export it to polio-free areas
- Curbing the intense spread of the poliovirus in northern Nigeria and western Uttar Pradesh, India
- Rapidly stopping polio outbreaks in previously polio-free countries
- Addressing low routine-immunization rates and surveillance gaps in polio-free areas
- Maintaining funding and political commitment to implement the eradication strategies