Progress toward poliomyelitis eradication--Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 1991-1993.

In 1988, the World Health Organization (WHO) established the goal of global eradication of poliomyelitis by the year 2000 (1), and the Western Pacific Region (WPR) of WHO established the goal of regional eradication by 1995 (2). In 1990, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (1993 population: 70.9 million; approximately 2 million births annually) endorsed this regional goal and enacted a National Plan of Action for eradication. This plan comprises three main strategies: 1) maintenance of high coverage with three doses of oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) through routine vaccination; 2) supplemental vaccination with OPV, including National Immunization Days (NIDs) and outbreak-response vaccination; and 3) surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) cases. This report summarizes the polio eradication effort in Vietnam during 1991-1993.