Progress toward global poliomyelitis eradication, 2000.

In 1988, the World Health Assembly resolved to eradicate poliomyelitis globally by 2000 (1). Substantial progress toward this goal has been reported from all six World Health Organization (WHO) regions; 20 countries reported poliovirus transmission in December 2000 compared with 30 in 1999. WHO has prepared a global action plan that anticipates certification of polio eradication in 2005 (2). This report summarizes the status of the eradication effort and describes the remaining tasks to be completed to reach global polio eradication