Global Certification Commission
The World Health Organization (WHO) created the Global Commission for the Certification of the Eradication of Poliomyelitis (commonly known as the Global Certification Commission or GCC) in 1995 to independently verify the eradication of wild poliovirus. The GCC certified the worldwide eradication of indigenous wild poliovirus type 2 on 20 September 2015, and wild poliovirus type 3 on 17 October 2019. In addition, five of the six World Health Organization Regions certified their status as free of indigenous transmission of all three serotypes of wild poliovirus (types 1, 2, and 3):
- Region of the Americas in 1994
- Western Pacific in 2000
- Europe in 2002
- Southeast Asia in 2014
- Africa in 2020
| Abbreviation | GCC |
|---|---|
| Formation | February 16, 1995 |
| Legal status | Active |
| Headquarters | Geneva, Switzerland |
Parent organization | World Health Organization |
Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only remaining polio endemic countries, with polio cases caused by type 1 wild poliovirus reported in 2021. Since 1988, international efforts led by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative have reduced poliomyelitis cases caused by wild poliovirus by over 99.99% using vaccination.