Global Polio Eradication Initiative:
 
In 2023, only one case of Wild Polio Virus Type 1 was confirmed in Afghanistan.  Since January, 1 case has been confirmed in Afghanistan and just two weeks ago, two cases were confirmed in Pakistan.
 
It takes three consecutive years of no confirmed wild polio cases for a country to be considered endemic-free.  "Polio remains endemic in two countries – Afghanistan and Pakistan. Until poliovirus transmission is interrupted in these countries, all countries remain at risk of importation of polio, especially vulnerable countries with weak public health and immunization services and travel or trade links to endemic countries."
 
Technology in for the assist:
 
When polio vaccinators fanned out across the Democratic Republic of the Congo last year to stop an outbreak, they carried a powerful new tool: cellphones that tracked their progress as they went from door to door. Equipped with an app, the phones send data back to a command center where staff can see missed homes on a digital map and redirect teams on the ground. The country is helping pioneer geospatial tracking to stop polio outbreaks. Vaccinators, trained by the World Health Organization, hit the streets in June 2023, armed with hundreds of phones, after an outbreak of vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1. 
 
Learn more about the Polio app using this link:  https://msgfocus.rotary.org/c/126mjHMD8NSvs9i9F6TgbQOHFiqzIy