The World Health Organization has revealed that Nigeria will soon be Wild Polio free. The Nigerian branch of the apex health organization took to Twitter to announce that Africa Regional Certification Commission for polio eradication (ARCC) has accepted Nigeria’s application to be declared Polio free.

In August 2019, The BBC reported that Nigeria had gone three years without a case of polio, putting it on the brink of being declared free of the disease.

What makes the achievement even more remarkable is that Nigeria recorded more than half of all the Polio cases worldwide in 2012, as reported by the WHO.

After going two years without a single case, Nigeria then recorded 2 more cases in 2016.

Since the last cases, Nigeria has now gone nearly 4 years without a single case of Polio.

To mark the achievement, the UN wrote on Twitter saying, “Today, Nigeria’s complete documentation for #WildPoliovirus free status was accepted by the Africa Regional Certification Commission for polio eradication (ARCC).

“It is a historic day for Nigeria, Africa and the Global Polio Programme!”

What is Polio?

Polio or poliomyelitis is a viral disease that mainly affects children aged under five. It invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis within hours

Initial symptoms include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness of the neck and pains in the limbs

According to the WHO, One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis. Among those paralyzed, 5% to 10% die when their breathing muscles become immobilized.