Progress toward global eradication of poliomyelitis, 1988-1993

In May 1988, the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted a resolution to eradicate poliomyelitis by the year 2000. Since then, all six WHO regions have made substantial progress toward this goal using three major control strategies: 1) maintaining high coverage of children with at least three doses of oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV3); 2) administering supplementary doses of OPV to all young children (generally those aged < 5 years) during National Immunization Days (NIDs)* and during door-to-door vaccination campaigns in areas where wild poliovirus circulation persists at low levels; and 3) developing sensitive systems of epidemiologic and laboratory surveillance (1). This report summarizes progress of the global polio eradication initiative from 1988 through 1993.