CM Yogi Marks World Polio Day, Urges Two Drops for Every Child
Synopsis
On World Polio Day, 24 October 2026, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath called on Indians to pledge that polio will never return, urged parents to give every child the two oral vaccine drops, and honoured health workers behind India's polio-free achievement.
Key Takeaways
World Polio Day is observed annually on 24 October to mark global polio eradication efforts.
India's last wild poliovirus case occurred in West Bengal in January 2011 ; the WHO certified India polio-free in March 2014 .
CM Yogi urged every child to receive two drops of oral polio vaccine and called for sustained public awareness.
The Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme vaccinated hundreds of millions of children under five through repeated National Immunization Days.
CM Yogi felicitated doctors and health workers for their role in making India polio-free.
Re-importation and vaccine-derived poliovirus remain risks, making continued routine immunisation essential.
Thirteen years after India's last wild poliovirus case, the country's polio-free status still demands vigilance — and on World Polio Day, 24 October 2026, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath used the occasion to call on every citizen to keep the disease buried.
Posting in Hindi on X, CM Yogi wrote: 'हम सभी को गर्व है कि आज भारत पोलियो मुक्त है' — 'We are all proud that India is polio-free today.' He urged people to pledge on World Polio Day that a disease like polio will never be allowed to resurface, and stressed that every child must receive the two drops of oral polio vaccine. He also offered warm felicitations to the doctors and health workers who made India's victory over polio possible.
From West Bengal, 2011, to a WHO Certificate in 2014
The journey was neither quick nor easy. India recorded its last indigenous wild poliovirus case in West Bengal in January 2011 — a milestone that, at the time, few believed could arrive so soon for a country of India's scale and density. Three years of intensive surveillance followed before the WHO South-East Asia Region certified India polio-free in March 2014, a declaration that reverberated across global public health.
The engine behind that achievement was the Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme, which organised repeated National Immunization Days and vaccinated hundreds of millions of children under five annually through oral drops. The programme operated under the broader Universal Immunisation Programme and drew support from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, launched in 1988, which coordinated international resources and surveillance networks across endemic countries.
Why the Pledge Still Matters in 2026
Eradication is not the same as extinction. Poliovirus can be re-imported from countries where wild strains still circulate, and vaccine-derived poliovirus remains a documented risk in under-immunised pockets. CM Yogi's call to 'continuously keep people aware' echoes the standard public-health logic that herd immunity must be maintained, not assumed.
Uttar Pradesh — India's most populous state — has historically been one of the hardest battlegrounds in the polio fight, given its population density and, in earlier decades, pockets of vaccine hesitancy. A sitting UP Chief Minister amplifying the two-drops message on a globally observed health day carries practical weight beyond ceremonial acknowledgment.
The health workers CM Yogi saluted are the foot soldiers of that sustained effort: the vaccinators who walked door-to-door on cold January mornings, the surveillance officers who chased every rumoured case, the lab technicians who confirmed or ruled out the virus. Their work is the reason the pledge made today is one of maintenance rather than recovery.
India's polio-free chapter is a public-health triumph. Keeping it that way is the harder, quieter, never-finished task — and that is exactly what World Polio Day exists to remind us of.
Point of View
And a Chief Minister-level signal reinforces the political will behind routine vaccination at a time when global polio eradication still faces setbacks in endemic countries. The tribute to health workers also fits a broader BJP governance narrative of frontline-worker recognition, visible since the Covid-19 vaccination drive. Sustained political messaging on immunisation has measurable public-health value in high-density states where complacency is the chief remaining enemy.
NationPress
24 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
When was India declared polio-free?
India was certified polio-free by the WHO in March 2014 , after the South-East Asia Region, which includes India, met the three-year surveillance threshold following the last wild poliovirus case in West Bengal in January 2011 .
What is World Polio Day and when is it observed?
World Polio Day is observed every year on 24 October to raise awareness about global polio eradication efforts and the importance of continued vaccination.
What did CM Yogi Adityanath say on World Polio Day 2026?
CM Yogi called on all Indians to pledge that polio will never resurface, urged parents to ensure every child receives the two oral polio vaccine drops, and felicitated doctors and health workers for India's polio-free achievement.
What is the Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme?
The Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme is India's nationwide campaign that delivers oral polio vaccine drops to children under five through National Immunization Days, and was central to eliminating wild poliovirus from the country.
Can polio return to India even after being declared polio-free?
Yes. Wild poliovirus can be re-imported from countries where it still circulates, and vaccine-derived poliovirus can emerge in under-immunised communities, which is why sustained routine immunisation and surveillance remain essential.
