Africa Regional Certification Commission (ARCC) for Poliomyelitis Eradication. Algiers, 27 June, 01 July 2016.-

Algeria will be certified polio-free by the World Health Organization (WHO) in November 2016.

On the sidelines of the meeting of Africa Regional Certification Commission (ARCC) for Poliomyelitis Eradication, Pr. Mesbah announced, Director of prevention at the Ministry of Health, Population and Hospital Reform, Pr. Ismail Mesbah, that Algeria would submit the first documents on the eradication of the disease to the ARCC in order to obtain the WHO certification in November.

He added that no case of poliomyelitis has been reported since 1996, owing to the nationwide vaccination coverage, which exceeds 90 percent.

During the ARCC’s meeting, being held in Algiers from 27 June to 1 July, experts said that out of 47 African countries, 33 have managed to eradicate poliomyelitis, adding that the nine remaining countries have engaged in the certification process.

The certification process of three of them, namely Mozambique, Niger and Chad, have been examined during the meeting.

The Commission will also examine the annual reports and the progress achieved by four countries, namely Algeria, Cape Verde, Gabon and Ethiopia.

In their report on the endemic situation in Africa, the experts said that the most recent case of polio was reported in Nigeria on 24 July 2014.

Poliomyelitis will be completely eradicated in Africa by the end of 2017, according to the experts.