The challenge
India had about half the world's polio cases and millions of hard-to-reach children.
The case
In 2009 India reported 741 polio cases, more than any other country, and many experts doubted it could be eliminated in such a large, dense country. Through its Pulse Polio campaigns, begun in 1994, the government and partners including WHO, UNICEF and Rotary aimed to vaccinate roughly 172 million children under five in each national immunization day, with teams going house to house, to train and bus stations and to construction sites. India's last case was reported in Howrah, West Bengal, on 13 January 2011, and WHO certified it polio-free on 27 March 2014.
Why it worked
Relentless micro-planning to find every missed child, plus local influencers who built trust in hesitant communities, made the difference. The same surveillance networks were later reused for other health campaigns.
Sources
- Global Polio Eradication Initiative (2012). Polio in India: Fact sheet.
- WHO India (2021). A push to vaccinate every child, everywhere, ended polio in India.
- World Health Organization (2014). WHO South-East Asia Region certified polio-free.
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