Fifteen years after recording its last case of wild poliovirus, the WHO South-East Asia Region with a quarter of the world’s population, continues to sustain its polio-free status while harnessing innovations and lessons from the polio programme to accelerate broader public health gains, the UN health body said.

“This extraordinary achievement followed unparalleled efforts and demonstrates what can be accomplished and sustained through unwavering government leadership, a dedicated health workforce, and strong partnerships, including with communities,” said Dr Catharina Boehme, Officer-in-Charge, WHO South-East Asia Region.

On January 13, 2011, an 18-month-old girl was paralysed by wild poliovirus in Howrah, West Bengal, India—the last such case recorded in the region. The extensive response that followed ensured that no further transmission occurred. Three years later, on March 27, 2014, the WHO South-East Asia Region was officially certified polio-free.

The region continues to maintain strict vigil against poliovirus importation and protect children through vaccination against a disease that once caused widespread paralysis and death.

In 2025, more than 50 000 stool samples were collected across the region and tested through a network of 13 WHO-accredited polio laboratories, including national, regional and global reference laboratories, WHO said. Surveillance across the region continues to exceed the standards required to maintain polio-free certification.

Adding a further layer of sensitivity to detect any potential poliovirus transmission, environmental surveillance is being conducted at 93 sites among high risk populations in five countries.

The region has also maintained high population immunity through consistently strong routine immunisation coverage, according to the annual WHO/UNICEF Estimates of National Immunization Coverage (WUENIC). Coverage with the bivalent oral polio vaccine and at least one dose of inactivated polio vaccine has remained above 90 percent for many years.

Even during humanitarian emergencies, natural disasters and the Covid pandemic, countries sustained high-quality surveillance and immunisation services, safeguarding these hard-won gains, the WHO said.

Independent oversight of the region’s polio-free status is provided by the South-East Asia Regional Certification Commission for Poliomyelitis Eradication (SEA-RCCPE), which meets annually to review country progress, assess risks and verify the continued compliance with the certification requirements.

WHO said the polio programme continues to deliver benefits far beyond a single disease. Member countries have applied innovations, systems and operational lessons from polio eradication to strengthen routine immunization, advance measles and rubella elimination, enhance public health laboratory capacities and emergency preparedness. These efforts have been instrumental in expanding routine immunization coverage, reaching previously unreached communities, and closing immunity gaps.

Countries in the region have also recorded progress against other vaccine-preventable diseases. The elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus remains sustained, while the introduction and scale-up of vaccines against pneumococcal disease, rotavirus, hepatitis B, Japanese encephalitis, typhoid and human papillomavirus, have controibuted to reduce mortality and long-term disease burden.

As long as polio exists anywhere in the world, the risk of importation remains, the UN health body warns, while stressing the need for countries to sustain high immunisation coverage, sensitive surveillance and rapid response capacities for polio as well as other vaccine-preventable diseases.

“The journey from polio endemicity to sustained polio-free status demonstrates that ambitious public health goals are achievable,” Dr Boehme, the office -in-charge of the WHO South-East Asian region said, adding, “WHO remains committed to supporting countries to protect every child through strong routine immunization systems and to advance disease elimination across the Region.”