LONDON, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- Polio has been wiped out in 10 African countries, the World Health Organization says in a new report.
The WHO said the news demonstrated that the poorest countries are committed to eradicating polio worldwide within 18 months.
More than 200 children were paralyzed during the polio outbreaks in recent years, which spread from Nigeria across Africa and into the Middle East, reaching Indonesia. No cases have been found in the 10 west and central African states since June, the report said.
"This is the light at the end of the tunnel," Bruce Aylward, WHO coordinator for the eradication of polio, told the BBC, "The world can be polio-free in another 18 months everywhere and the poorest countries in the world are committed to turning this around."
The polio outbreak began in 2003 when Islamic clerics in Nigeria organized a boycott of the polio vaccine, claiming it was part a western plot against Muslims.
