Additionally, travelers from Afghanistan, Malawi, Mozambique, and Congo must present an immunization certificate.
According to an advisory issued by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Monday, travelers from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and other nations are now required to present a polio vaccination certificate in order to enter Egypt.
“As advised by the Egyptian Authorities, passengers traveling to Egypt from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Malawi, Mozambique, and Congo are required to present an international certificate of vaccination, specifically the polio vaccine, OPV or IPV (both are acceptable),” stated the CAA in a statement.
Foreigners who have spent more than four weeks in the countries listed above are also required to provide proof of polio vaccination before entering Egypt.
The International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee, which evaluates the global spread of poliovirus, expressed concern over Pakistan’s efforts to reach a large number of children with its polio eradication campaign last month.
During a meeting convened by the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) on August 16, 2023, the committee highlighted Pakistan and Afghanistan’s polio eradication efforts.
Recent favorable environmental samples from Peshawar and Karachi highlight the persistent risk of a polio outbreak in Pakistan.
Since the last meeting, a new case of WPV1 has emerged in Pakistan, bringing the total number of cases in 2023 to two. Both incidents took place in Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. Throughout the course of the year, at least 15 affirmative samples for environmental surveillance were identified.
“Although the action plan in southern KP has resulted in 160,000 more children being vaccinated, the context remains challenging, including political instability, insecurity in some areas where front-line workers require police patrols to accompany them, and vaccination boycotts in which communities demand other services in exchange for allowing polio vaccination,” the committee added.
Commenting on the emergency committee’s statement, Pakistan’s caretaker health minister, Dr. Nadeem Jan told The News that increasing routine immunization and zero-dose coverage through outreach campaigns would aid the country’s efforts to eradicate polio.
Since the last meeting, five new WPV1 cases have been reported in Afghanistan, all in Nangarhar province, the emergency committee reported, adding that the cases occurred in five distinct districts and had onsets between April and May 2023.
“Any setback in Afghanistan poses a threat to the Pakistan programme due to the high rate of population movement,” the emergency committee warned.
The committee also noted that only two genetic clusters of WPV1 were identified in 2023, compared to three in 2022 and five in 2021.
ilg0uq