Poliomyelitis, or polio, is a highly infectious disease that primarily affects children under 5 years old and can cause paralysis or death. While global polio cases have decreased by 99% since 1988 due to vaccination efforts, eradication has not been fully achieved due to issues like limited health infrastructure, vaccine effectiveness in some climates, outbreaks of vaccine-derived poliovirus, and opposition to vaccination in some areas. Ghana has implemented initiatives like mass vaccination campaigns and public education to eliminate polio domestically.

1. PRESENTATION ON CURRENT
NATIONAL CHALLENGES-
POLIOMYELITIS
GROUP 3

2. TOPIC: POLIOMYELITIS IN CHILDREN
• The focal point of this presentation is on poliomyelitis
• Its impact on the society, management and possible solutions.

3. ABSTRACT
• This presentation focuses on polio and how the prevalence about 1%.
• Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by the poliovirus.
• It primarily affects children under the age of 5 and can lead to
permanent paralysis and even death, however, anyone of any age
who is unvaccinated can contract the disease.
• Outbreaks of polio are more likely to occur in communities where
there are unimmunized children and coupled with poor sanitary and
hygiene environments. WHO(2022).

4. INTRODUCTION
• In 1988, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution for the
worldwide eradication of polio, marking the launch of the Global Polio
Eradication Initiative (GPEI)
• It was spearheaded by national governments, WHO, Rotary
International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), UNICEF, and Bill & Melinda Gates. WHO(2022).
• Since then, the incidence of polio worldwide has been reduced by
99% from an estimated 350,000 cases in more than 125 endemic
countries then, to 6 reported cases in 2021.

5. INTRODUCTION
• According to the World Health Organization, there has been a
significant reduction from the 350,000 cases reported in 1988 to
140 reported cases of wild poliovirus worldwide in 2020.
• On average between 1950 and 1955, WHO recorded annual
prevalence of almost 85,000 of which 87% originated from Europe,
Asia , North America and Japan.
• In 1994, WHO region of America was certified as polio-free, followed
by the Pacific region in 2000; European and South-East Asiain the year
2002 and 2014 respectively.

6. INTRODUCTION
• In 2020, Africa became the fifth region to be certified wild poliovirus-
free
• The Polio Eradication Strategy 2022–2026 lays out the roadmap to
securing a lasting and sustained world, free of all polioviruses.

7. WHY ERADICATION OF POLIO HAS NOT BEEN
ACHIEVED
• In spite of the 1% prevalence rate globally, the eradication of
Poliomyelitis has not been achieved due to;
• The lack of basic health infrastructure, which limits vaccine
distribution and delivery.
• The climate conditions which affects the potency of vaccines.
• vaccine-derived poliovirus outbreaks and funding issues.
• Inadequate mobilisation of community groups.
• Opposition to vaccination in some countries and some regions in
Ghana

8. GHANA’S INITIATIVE TO ERADICATE POLIO
• Various measures were put in place to eradicate polio in childeren.
• Ensuring high immunization coverage.
• Robust surveillance for the signs and symptoms of polio.
• Implementation of polio vaccination campaigns targeting children
under five years across all 16 regions of Ghana.
• Rapid response to any detection of the virus.
• Organisation on educational forums and campaigns for public
education and sensitization.

9. • Globally, the Polio Eradication Strategy 2022–2026 offers a
comprehensive set of actions that will position the GPEI to deliver on
a promise that brought the world together in a collective
commitment to eradicate polio.
• The Government of Ghana, with the support of the World Health
Organization (WHO) and other partners of the Global Polio
Eradication Initiative (GPEI),has revived its drive to eradicate polio
(WHO,2022).

11. METHODOLOGY
• In 1974, Nicholas, Ofosu-Amaah and their colleagues conducted a
research on lame children, initially identified by school teachers as
being unable to walk normally.

12. FINDINGS
• They found out that, the annual incidence of polio in children in
Ghana, at 232 per million population, was twice as high as it has been
in the United State before vaccination.
• The polio was the cause of the disability in over 60% in the lame
children examined.
• In August 2020, Africa was declared free of poliomyelitis (polio),
bringing to fruition a goal that took more than 30 years to
achieve.(Mohammed & Nkengasong,2021).

13. FINDINGS
• By 2001, 575 million children (almost one-tenth the world's
population) had received some two billion doses of oral polio vaccine.
• In 2007, there were 1,315 cases of poliomyelitis reported worldwide.

14. REFERENCES
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