WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean is hosting a two-day emergency meeting in Cairo, Egypt, from 9 to 10 June 2013, on the response to the polio outbreak in the Horn of Africa. The meeting will be attended by the Chairman of the Horn of Africa Technical Advisory Group, and representatives of WHO headquarters, WHO Regional Office for Africa, and WHO country offices in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Yemen. It will be chaired by Dr Ala Alwan, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean.

The objectives of the meeting are to:

review the current status and risks for poliovirus circulation in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Yemen

review and strengthen national response plans to rapidly stop the polio outbreak and prevent its spread to Ethiopia, Yemen and other countries

review and strengthen intercountry and inter-regional coordination of the outbreak response in the Horn of Africa

activate and implement the necessary emergency protocols and process to urgently deploy human, logistic and financial resources for a robust outbreak response and develop advocacy plans to optimize access to children in Somalia

enhance political commitment and support for the national outbreak response.

Optimal mechanisms and protocols for intercountry and inter-regional coordination will be discussed in the meeting, together with the advocacy and outreach needed to optimize access to children in Somalia and enhance political commitment and support for the national outbreak response.

Related link

Global Alert and Response: wild poliovirus in the Horn of Africa