World Polio Day Observed on 24th October 2024 to Raise Awareness and Support for Polio Eradication Efforts.
Important Days
World Polio Day is observed globally on 24th October each year to emphasize the importance of efforts aimed at eradicating poliomyelitis (polio), the infectious disease that primarily affects children under the age of 5.
- Various organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, and UNICEF, organize events to educate communities about polio and the importance of vaccination.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the European Region polio-free in 2002.
- India was declared polio-free on 27th March 2014 by the WHO.
Main Points:- (i) The first World Polio Day was celebrated on 24th October 2002.
(ii) World Polio Day was established by Rotary International (RI) to commemorate the birth anniversary of Jonas Salk, an American virologist who developed the first successful polio vaccines.
(iii) Jonas Salk led the first team to create a polio vaccine and began testing it in 1953.
About World Health Organization (WHO)
Director General- Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Headquarters- Geneva, Switzerland
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