On March 27th, the World Health Organization (WHO) will certify the South-East Asia Region as polio-free, a major milestone in the global effort to eradicate polio. This certification includes India, which had long been considered one of the hardest places to eliminate the disease.

Last year, the UN Foundation took a group of international journalists to Moradabad – once known as the “polio capital” of India – to see first-hand the work being done to keep the country polio-free. One of the journalists, Almudena Toral, took a series of photos chronicling the journalists’ time in Moradabad. On this momentous day in the fight to end polio, we want to share Almudena’s images from a country where many once thought polio would never be eliminated. India now serves as evidence that progress on polio is possible when the world marshals political will and commits adequate resources to causes that affect us all.

[simpleviewer gallery_id=”9″]