The United Nations and the World Health Organisation have lauded India's effort for not reporting any new polio case for a whole year. In a statement, WHO Director General Margaret Chan termed it as the greatest public health achievement of the country.

UNICEF's Executive Director Anthony Lake in a statement attributed the success to the country's strong leadership and sustained polio eradication campaigns.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad however cautioned that there is still no room for complacency and all efforts need to be made to ensure complete eradication of polio from the country.

AIR correspondent reports that according to WHO norms a country can be declared totally polio free if there is no polio cases reported for three continuous years.