Two years polio-free: January 13 will mark two years since a child was paralyzed by wild poliovirus in India, a country once considered the most complex challenge to global polio eradication.
Response to Niger outbreak: The first immunization activities start in Niger on 15 January 2013, in close coordination with Nigeria. This first outbreak of imported wild poliovirus in 2012 is due to virus of Nigerian origin.
Next batch of STOPpers: 73 public health experts from 41 countries are taking part in Stop Transmission of Polio (STOP) training from 7-18 January in Atlanta, USA. STOP participants are trained in polio eradication strategies and operations; these new participants will join 111 experienced ‘STOPpers’ to be deployed to work closely with national Ministries of Health in countries with a shortage of skilled public health staff available to fully support polio eradication.