CM Vishnu Deo Sai salutes health workers on World Polio Day
Synopsis
On World Polio Day, Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai saluted health workers behind India's polio-free achievement and pledged to ensure every eligible infant receives the vaccine, sustaining a landmark won in 2014.
Key Takeaways
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai marked World Polio Day on 24 October 2026 by honouring frontline health workers.
He called for a renewed pledge to deliver polio doses to every eligible infant in India.
India's last wild poliovirus case was recorded in 2011 ; the WHO declared India polio-free in 2014 .
The Pulse Polio Immunization Programme , launched in 1995 , was central to achieving eradication.
Ongoing surveillance and supplementary immunization rounds remain essential to protecting India's polio-free status.
On World Polio Day, 24 October 2026, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai paid tribute to the frontline health workers whose decades of tireless effort turned a once-feared disease into a distant memory for India's children — and renewed the call to keep it that way.
Posting on X in Hindi, CM Sai saluted all health workers who helped realise the dream of a 'polio mukt Bharat' (polio-free India), urging every citizen to pledge that no eligible infant is left without a polio dose. 'Let us resolve to deliver the polio dose to every eligible infant and secure the future of the country's children,' he wrote.
From a crippling epidemic to a 2014 WHO certificate
The journey that CM Sai commemorates today was not overnight. India recorded its last wild poliovirus case in 2011, and the World Health Organization formally declared the country polio-free in 2014 — a landmark moment for a nation that once reported the highest number of polio cases in the world.
The engine behind that transformation was the Pulse Polio Immunization Programme, launched in 1995, which mobilised armies of health workers to fan out across cities, villages, and remote hamlets on designated immunization days, placing two drops of oral vaccine on the tongues of millions of children.
Why the vigil cannot stop
Eradication, however, is not the same as elimination of risk. India has maintained its polio-free status through continuous surveillance for acute flaccid paralysis and supplementary immunization rounds every year since 2011. The virus still circulates in a handful of countries, meaning an unvaccinated child anywhere remains a potential entry point. The annual World Polio Day messaging from leaders like CM Sai serves a precise public-health purpose: keeping vaccination rates high enough to block any reintroduction.
Participation in national immunization rounds and robust acute flaccid paralysis surveillance are the two metrics health officials watch most closely to ensure that hard-won status holds.
Point of View
Invoking 'polio-free India' also draws a line of continuity from the Pulse Polio programme's origins through successive governments, framing the achievement as a national rather than partisan success. The real test, analysts note, lies not in the rhetoric but in whether state-level immunization rounds maintain the coverage rates that have kept the virus absent for over a decade.
NationPress
24 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
When was India declared polio-free?
The World Health Organization officially declared India polio-free in 2014 , three years after the country's last recorded wild poliovirus case in 2011 .
What is World Polio Day and when is it observed?
World Polio Day is an annual global observance held on 24 October each year to mark efforts toward the eradication of polio and to honour the health workers who carry out immunization campaigns.
What is the Pulse Polio Immunization Programme?
The Pulse Polio Immunization Programme is India's nationwide polio vaccination drive launched in 1995 . It mobilises health workers to administer oral polio vaccine to all children under five on designated national immunization days.
Why does India still conduct polio vaccination drives if it is polio-free?
The poliovirus still circulates in a few countries globally, making continued supplementary immunization and acute flaccid paralysis surveillance essential to prevent reintroduction and protect India's polio-free status.
What did Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai say on World Polio Day 2026?
CM Vishnu Deo Sai saluted health workers who helped achieve a polio-free India and urged citizens to pledge that every eligible infant receives the polio vaccine to secure the future of the country's children.
