The Technical Advisory Group for Polio Eradication in Afghanistan and Pakistan (TAG) convened in May 2024 in Doha, Qatar, to review and assess the status of polio eradication efforts over the past 11 months amid expanding wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) transmission and multiple contextual challenges in both countries. The TAG meeting was convened at a critical time for the two countries and the global polio eradication programme. The international spread of poliovirus is the only Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) declared by the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only two remaining polioendemic countries in the world, constituting a joint epidemiological bloc and making the interruption of the virus a joint endeavour.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) Strategy 2022-2026: Delivering on the Promise of a Polio-Free World (1) aims for the certification of polio eradication in 2026. Together with the polio programme teams from both countries and representatives from GPEI partner organizations, the TAG analysed poliovirus epidemiology and the programmes’ activities to interrupt the virus and assessed the feasibility of achieving WPV1 interruption in the near term.