The global polio eradication initiative was launched in 1988, to control and eradicate the polio virus, majorly responsible for causing acute flaccid paralysis in children. The WHO-run programme has been greatly successful, and polio only remains endemic in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria, as of 2012.1 Type-2 polio virus has been eradicated, with the last detected case in 1999 in India, the latest country to be declared 'polio-free'. In 2012, Pakistan reported only 58 cases, compared with 189 in 2011, reflecting a decrease of 65% in the number of cases.2 However, WHO has warned of an impending polio emergency in Pakistan in the coming years due to unforeseen difficulties in child immunisation in 2012.
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