The WHO Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks has thanked His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, for his continuous efforts to achieve a Polio-free world.

During its fourth meeting held virtually and chaired by the UAE, the Regional Subcommittee commended Sheikh Mohamed’s support to the global efforts being made to eradicate polio and his generous funding, which led to a huge decrease in the number of polio cases, as part of the UAE project to support Pakistan and Afghanistan in fighting this disease and providing vaccines to around 100 million children.

The meeting was attended by Ministers of Health of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Sudan, Oman, Djibouti and Pakistan, as well as a representative from Egypt and His Excellency Dr Ahmed Al Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean. 

Humanitarian commitment

Speaking during the meeting HE Abdulrahman bin Mohammad Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention (MoHAP), paid tribute to the keenness and humanitarian commitment of HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, to resume vaccination campaigns and provide vaccines to millions of children to help them lead a healthy and dignified life, adding that the UAE is exerting tremendous efforts in support of the WHO plans to eradicate polio.

Al Owais stressed that the UAE’s participation in the meeting aims to coordinate joint efforts to combat polio, support preventive health programs and strengthen the immunization programmes against this disease. 

He expressed his admiration for the achievements made by the subcommittee within a short period, lauding the strenuous efforts made by healthcare teams and partners in the global initiative to eradicate polio. 

The minister stressed that the UAE will continue to provide all forms of support and assistance to countries fighting polio to reduce its prevalence in coordination with the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the Emirates Red Crescent.

Global Role Model 

For his part, Dr. Hussain Abdul Rahman Al Rand, Assistant Undersecretary for the Public Health Sector, stressed that the UAE represented by MoHAP will keep abreast of the latest global developments and remain committed to all WHO recommendations in this respect, adding “We will spare no effort to improve the results of the strategic immunization rates indicator among children and we will constantly work to foster the expertise and skills of all medical and technical teams,”.

Al Rand made it clear that the ministry of health will continue to conduct a periodic review of the latest developments in the global poliomyelitis eradication to upgrade the national preparedness response plan, although the last case of polio in the country was registered in 1992.

 “The UAE is considered an advanced regional and global model for polio eradication and infection control, and has so far achieved remarkable results when it comes to handling the disease, where all prevention measures are strictly implemented and suspected cases are carefully handled according to international best practices,” Al Rand said.

In addition to the UAE, the WHO Regional Subcommittee’s membership features Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Sudan, Somalia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran.