By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Oct. 25: On World Polio Day, various organisations and experts have expressed concern about eradicating the disease and held several programmes.
The World Polio Day is commemorated globally every year on October 24th and is dedicated to raising awareness for the eradication of polio.
Prof. Dr. Shrijana Shrestha, Chairperson of the World Health Organization’s South-East Asia Regional Certification Commission for Polio Eradication, said that while Nepal’s achievements in eradicating polio are remarkable, sustained effort is required to maintain this status indefinitely.
In a video message released on Saturday on the occasion of World Polio Day, Chair Dr. Shrestha added that sustained efforts are essential to maintain Nepal’s polio-free status.
She also emphasized the need for constant vigilance, given the open borders and the movement of people, noting that as long as the polio virus exists anywhere in the world, there remains a risk of the disease entering Nepal.Dr. Shrestha further stressed five key priorities for maintaining Nepal’s polio-free status.
The first is to ensure the delivery of routine immunization services, specifically guaranteeing that every child, especially those in remote or high-risk areas and communities, receives a full course of vaccinations.
In addition, she stated that it is essential to strengthen surveillance for acute flaccid paralysis to ensure the timely detection of the polio virus, and to conduct regular reviews of surveillance data to guarantee a rapid and effective response should the virus be detected.
She added that given the shifting landscape of global financial support for polio, it is crucial to preserve the essential capacities and infrastructure required for the surveillance of vaccine-preventable diseases, laboratory services, immunization programmes, and outbreak response.
“Leveraging the experience, expertise, and infrastructure gained through polio eradication efforts to strengthen surveillance and response systems for other vaccine-preventable diseases is needed,” she said.
According to experts, the presence of polio in even a single country means that all nations remain at risk. Polio is caused by a virus that enters the body, affects the intestines, and spreads to the nervous system; it can lead to infections in the mouth and facial area, cause muscle weakness, and result in paralysis.
Experts suggest that to eradicate this disease, there is a strong emphasis on vaccinating children under the age of five. The Nepal Government has been providing free polio vaccinations to children across the country by mobilizing rural female health volunteers.
The government data show that currently there are zero confirmed cases of polio in Nepal. However, to maintain polio-free status, the government, including the WHO, is conducting intensive surveillance across the country. According to data released in 2025, at least 579 suspected polio cases were identified and tested nationwide; however, polio was not confirmed in any of these cases.
Back in 2014, the WHO declared Nepal a polio-free country. The last case of polio in Nepal was detected in 2010 in Rautahat district. Public health experts argue that although there are no polio cases in Nepal, the risk of infection has not yet been eliminated. Since polio has not been completely eradicated in neighboring countries and several other nations worldwide, the threat of the virus entering Nepal remains.
Meanwhile, special polio vaccination campaigns have also been conducted from time to time in the capital, Kathmandu, and border with India to prevent the virus from entering.
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