The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the two-day Polio Summit on Saturday. Talking to reporters in New Delhi, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Ms. Anuradha Gupta on thursday said that India completed a year without reporting any case of polio in last month.

This is a major achievement and unprecedented progress to sustained with continued intensive efforts until polio is eradicated by 2014. She said that the summit is being jointly organised by Health Ministry and Rotary International.

Ms. Gupta said, the summit will deliberate on how to build synergies to ensure that the present momentum against polio is maintained until the disease is eradicated. She said that the las bastions of polio in India – Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal are expected to present their eforts and challenges.

She said the challenge before India is to ensure all children up to 5 years of age continue to take Oral Polio Vaccine at every available opportunity both in and outside the polio-endemic states until global eradication is achieved. The Summit is expected to provide a platform for sharing and learning lessons.

Our correspondent reports that this summit will be a platform for all the key players in the end game strategy for polio eradication – government, partners, donars and frontline worlers to renew and reinforce their commitment to eradicate polio in India. The Health Ministers of polio endemic countries Pakistan and Nigeria and neighbouring Sri Lanka and Nepal and Rotarians from across the world are expected to attend the global summit. US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization – National Polio Surveillance Project and UNICEF will also participate in the summit.