Nineteenth meeting of the WHO South-East Asia Regional Certification Commission for Poliomyelitis Eradication (SEA-RCCPE)
Venue: Colombo, Sri Lanka
Dates: 24 to 26 June 2026
Participants: SEA-RCCPE Chair and members, Representatives of National Certification Committees for Polio Eradication (NCCPEs), National Containment Task Force, Polio Laboratory Network, Ministry of Health and Mass Media (Sri Lanka-host country), donor and partner agencies (UNICEF, Rotary International), Observers, WHO HQ, EMRO, WPRO, WHO Country Offices and WHO-SEARO
Purpose: The 19th SEA-RCCPE meeting, convened by WHO-SEARO, reviewed NCCPE annual reports and assessed the region’s polio-free status.
Details: The 19th Meeting of the SEA-RCCPE brought together global and regional experts to review progress in sustaining the Region’s polio-free status.
The Commission reviewed annual reports from National Certification Committees of all ten Member States, assessing population immunity, surveillance, outbreak preparedness, containment and polio transition. It noted that the Region continues to maintain strong overall performance and remains polio-free, while highlighting risks from subnational gaps in immunization, zero-dose children, hard-to-reach and conflict-affected areas, displaced populations and declining resources.
The Commission emphasized sustained vigilance, political commitment, strong national systems and regional collaboration.
It also underscored the need to integrate essential polio functions into broader health systems to ensure long-term sustainability and rapid detection and response to any poliovirus risk. The commission noted that there is Polio Essential Facility in one country and appreciated that poliovirus containment implementation is mostly on track with some country-specific issues. The commission also noted that polio transition among the four priority countries remains off track in terms of milestones and was concerned about signs of decline in surveillance performance as already evident in India. 
The commission also expressed its concerns on the sustainability of polio essential functions in priority and watchlist countries due to declining external financing, competing health priorities, and inadequate domestic resource mobilization.
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Author: Sudhir Joshi, WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia, Technical Officer Polio Endgame SEARO
Photo: 19th SEA-RCCPE meeting in progress (© WHO SEARO)