On September 28, 2022, specialists of the Center for Preventive Medicine of the State Institution "TMA of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Rivne region took part in the training on the topic: "Initiatives to eradicate polio and epidemiological surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis for health workers. Eradication of polio in Ukraine", which was conducted by WHO representatives together with the Rivne Regional Center for Public Health of the Ministry of Health.

The instructors of the training were three representatives of the World Health Organization:

Dr. Raymond Dancoli - coordinator of the polio outbreak in Ukraine;

Dr. Faizal Lodhi - Emergency Consultant, WHO, Euroregion;

Archil Navdarashvili - Data Analyst, WHO.

The meeting was also attended by representatives of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the State Institution "Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine", the Rivne Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Department of Health of Rivne Regional Military Administration.

The main purpose of this event is to inform doctors about the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and how to improve epidemiological surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis in Ukraine.

During the training, the experts described the algorithm of actions in case of detecting a suspected, probable case of polio, how to recognize the disease in time, and therefore minimize the chances of spreading the infection among the population, especially children.

The moderators also reminded the clinic, of the early manifestations of the disease, emphasizing the need for a detailed epidemiological anamnesis in case of suspicion of this dangerous infectious disease.

They stressed that the key role in the prevention of polio is played by vaccination, which effectively blocks the transmission of the polio virus from person to person, providing both individual and collective immunity.

During the training, all steps of the algorithm of actions of medical personnel in detecting a patient with acute flaccid paralysis and suspected polio were demonstrated. They also worked in groups to solve situational problems.

    "As long as there is at least one infected child in the world, children in all countries are at risk of polio infection"