It's an unparalleled victory, a major milestone…and arguably, India's greatest public health achievement. The country is inches away from stopping polio transmission. Not a single case of the crippling viral disease has been reported over the last year…making it the longest polio free period in India.

Jeffrey Bates, UNICEF Health Communication Specialist, said: "India has historically been one of the chief reservoirs for wild polio virus and it also faced some of the most fantastic challenges in terms of population density, of extending services into communities that were under-served on almost all fronts - social and politically."

As recently as 2009, India had more polio cases than any country in the world but persistent efforts by millions of health workers made the impossible …a reality going door-door in remote villages, heavily populated cities and towns, by road, by water…committed volunteers overcame the toughest of challenges. To reach people on the move, mobile vaccination teams immunized children at railway stations, inside trains, and market places.

Karin Hulshof, UNICEF Representative in India, said: "Congratulations to the government of India for keeping India polio free for the last 12 months - there hasn't been a single case." The need of the hour is preventing polio transmission from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria– the only other countries where polio remains endemic. The threat from the deadly viral disease still looms larg

Geeta Rao Gupta, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, said: "This is not a moment to relax or to stop the effort or to reduce the amount of effort...it needs the same level of resources, the same amount of commitment to keep it going to truly eradicate polio."

While India steps up efforts to ward off any re-importation of the virus, her monumental success has injected new optimism and enthusiasm in the global fight against this debilitating disease.