18 August 2025
Distinguished colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 24th intercountry meeting of poliovirus laboratory directors in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.
Your work is critical to the Region’s progress towards polio eradication.
The precision, dedication, and collaboration that define this laboratory network are essential to timely detection, effective outbreak response, and ultimately, eradication.
I would like to thank our hosts, the Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and Dr Iman Shankiti, WHO Representative in Jordan, for her leadership and support.
Our Region remains the only one where wild poliovirus type 1 still circulates—confined to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
While both countries face persistent challenges—including access and insecurity—2025 has seen a decline in cases, giving us a critical window to stop transmission within the next 6-12 months.
At the same time, we continue to respond to outbreaks of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) in Djibouti, Palestine, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
Earlier outbreaks in Egypt and Sudan were successfully ended, thanks to a swift response and sensitive surveillance.
As we move closer to eradication and eventual certification, the quality of surveillance and laboratory performance becomes even more important.
I commend your efforts to meet the targets of the Global Poliovirus Surveillance Action Plan, particularly regarding the timeliness of poliovirus detection.
Environmental surveillance is now operational in 17 of the Region’s 22 Member States, and is being planned for rolled out in Libya, Morocco, Qatar, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates.
All polio laboratories in the Region remain WHO-accredited—a reflection of your professionalism and commitment.
Cross-regional collaboration has also been vital. I thank our colleagues in the African Region for supporting testing in Somalia and Djibouti.
Despite financial constraints, WHO and GPEI partners remain fully committed to supporting this critical network.
Thank you for your hard work and dedication.
We’re nearly there. Let’s keep going till we eradicate polio.
