India completed three years without any polio case
New Delhi: India completed three years without any polio case. On this occasion Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said that Polio eradication in India has been possible only because of unwavering political will, adequate financial resources and technological innovations.
Azad said the role of the millions of volunteers and vaccinators was also important to make India polio-free and make it an ideal nation for three other countries – Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria – where polio still prevails.
He told reporters that though India has become polio-free, all precautions are needed to be taken till the time the world is declared polio-free.
India reported the last polio case in Howrah, West Bengal, Jan 13, 2011. Since then, it has not reported any case of polio.
India will be officially certified as a polio-free nation by the World Health Organisation for the Entire Southeast Asia Region (WHO-SEAR) on February 11.
