Egypt ready to offer all support to Eastern Mediterranean countries to eradicate polio: Health Min.

CAIRO - 17 March 2020: Health and Population Minister Hala Zayed expressed Egypt's readiness to offer all necessary support for Eastern Mediterranean countries to eradicate polio.

Zayed's remarks came during her meeting held at the headquarters of the WHO office in Egypt, according to a spokesman for the Health Ministry Khaled Megahed.

Zayed, as the chairperson of the 67th session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean, participated in the first meeting of the Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks. 

Megahed said that the health minister, during the meeting, reaffirmed Egypt's full support to help eradicate polio from the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

The health minister underlined the urgent need to launch a regional platform to facilitate communication and share experiences between the countries of the region to enhance the mechanism of rapid response to challenges that some countries may face.

She also stressed the necessity of ensuring that all children have access to the mandatory and free vaccinations for those aged 0-18 months, the most important of which is polio vaccination, the spokesman added.

The inaugural meeting of the Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks was convened on Tuesday by WHO’s Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr. Ahmed al-Mandhari.

The new Regional Subcommittee aims to bring together the Member States from across the Region to focus on renewing regional solidarity and commitment which is needed to achieve polio eradication.

Agreement on establishing a Subcommittee was formally endorsed by the Member States through a resolution at the 67th session of the Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean in October 2020.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared that Egypt was completely polio-free in 2006, while the last reported case of polio in Egypt was in 2004.