Africa is declared free of wild polio by certification committee

Africa was declared free of wild polio on Tuesday by the independent Africa Regional Certification Commission (ARCC) for Polio Eradication.

Certification of the milestone, announced during a World Health Organization (WHO) videoconference, means all 47 countries in the WHO's Africa region have eradicated the viral disease that can cause irreversible paralysis. The last case in Africa was recorded four years ago in northeast Nigeria.