Thread by @WHO

Live on #WorldPolioDay: Declaring eradication of the wild poliovirus type 3 with @DrTedros. #EndPolio pscp.tv/w/cIG9pTI2MTAy…

@DrTedros 👏👏👏 This historic #WorldPolioDay sees wild poliovirus type 3 declared eradicated 🌎🌍🌏. bit.ly/362Hcaz

Wild poliovirus type 2 was eradicated in 2015: just one strain remains. #EndPolio

@DrTedros "Today we are celebrating another milestone on the road to a post-polio world – the global eradication of wild poliovirus type 3. This is a great achievement, and shows us the tactics are working"-@DrTedros #EndPolio

@DrTedros "But is only a milestone. We have not reached our destination. The last mile is the hardest mile, and we must continue even greater commitment and determination until #polio is eradicated"-@DrTedros #EndPolio

@DrTedros @WHOSEARO @WHOAFRO @pahowho @WHO_Europe @WHOEMRO @WHOWPRO @gavi @UNICEF @Rotary "The infrastructure we have built must not die with #polio. The investments in polio are vital investments in stronger health systems and universal health coverage"-@DrTedros #EndPolio

@DrTedros @WHOSEARO @WHOAFRO @pahowho @WHO_Europe @WHOEMRO @WHOWPRO @gavi @UNICEF @Rotary @gatesfoundation "The same #healthworkers 👩‍⚕️👨‍⚕️ who deliver #polio vaccines have helped fight Ebola, cholera and other disease outbreaks, address malnutrition, provide measles vaccinations, deworming tablets, and malaria bed nets"-@DrTedros #EndPolio

@DrTedros @WHOSEARO @WHOAFRO @pahowho @WHO_Europe @WHOEMRO @WHOWPRO @gavi @UNICEF @Rotary @gatesfoundation "It’s a great example of how a disease-specific programme can contribute to health-system strengthening and our goal of #HealthForAll. I look forward to the day very soon when we will celebrate not just the end of one strain of #polio, but the #EndPolio"-@DrTedros

@DrTedros @WHOSEARO @WHOAFRO @pahowho @WHO_Europe @WHOEMRO @WHOWPRO @gavi @UNICEF @Rotary @gatesfoundation “The achievement of #polio eradication will be a milestone for global health. Commitment from partners and countries, coupled with innovation, means of the three wild polio serotypes, only type one remains.”-@DrTedros bit.ly/362Hcaz #WorldPolioDay

@DrTedros @WHOSEARO @WHOAFRO @pahowho @WHO_Europe @WHOEMRO @WHOWPRO @gavi @UNICEF @Rotary @gatesfoundation @UN_News_Centre There are 3 individual & immunologically-distinct wild poliovirus strains. Symptomatically, all strains are identical, causing irreversible paralysis or even death. But their genetic & virologic differences make them 3 separate viruses that must each be eradicated individually.

@DrTedros @WHOSEARO @WHOAFRO @pahowho @WHO_Europe @WHOEMRO @WHOWPRO @gavi @UNICEF @Rotary @gatesfoundation @UN_News_Centre The last case of wild poliovirus type 3 was detected in northern #Nigeria 🇳🇬 in 2012. bit.ly/362Hcaz #EndPolio #WorldPolioDay

@DrTedros @WHOSEARO @WHOAFRO @pahowho @WHO_Europe @WHOEMRO @WHOWPRO @gavi @UNICEF @Rotary @gatesfoundation @UN_News_Centre Investments in skilled #HealthWorkers, innovative tools and a global network of laboratories have helped determine that no wild poliovirus 3 exists anywhere in the world, apart from specimens locked in secure containment. bit.ly/362Hcaz #WorldPolioDay

@DrTedros @WHOSEARO @WHOAFRO @pahowho @WHO_Europe @WHOEMRO @WHOWPRO @gavi @UNICEF @Rotary @gatesfoundation @UN_News_Centre #WorldPolioDay: Eradicating wild poliovirus 3 proves that a polio-free world is achievable. Together, we can #EndPolio! bit.ly/362Hcaz

@DrTedros @WHOSEARO @WHOAFRO @pahowho @WHO_Europe @WHOEMRO @WHOWPRO @gavi @UNICEF @Rotary @gatesfoundation @UN_News_Centre #Polio eradication efforts have saved the world over US$27 billion in health costs since 1988. A sustained polio-free world will generate further US$14 billion in savings by 2050, compared to the cost countries would incur for controlling the virus indefinitely. #EndPolio