• Two new wild poliovirus (WPV) cases are officially reported this week, both from Nigeria, bringing the total number of WPV cases in 2013 to 26 (compared to 53 at this time last year). Additionally, a new circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) case is reported in Pakistan. Please see country-specific sections below, for more information.

• Multi-country immunization campaigns took place this week (26-29 April) across West Africa. Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Mali and Sierra Leone all participated, aiming to reach nearly 30 million children under the age of five years with oral polio vaccine (OPV).

The Global Overview collates information from a range of sources and displays it in a manner that allows for quick comparison of different humanitarian crises.

KEY MESSAGES

The Global Overview collates information from a range of sources and displays it in a manner that allows for quick comparison of different humanitarian crises.

• Next week, the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on immunization (SAGE) will meet in Geneva, Switzerland, from 9-11 April. Among other immunization topics, SAGE is expected to review the global polio situation. The draft agenda of the SAGE meeting is available at http://www.who.int/immunization/sage/en/.

The Global Overview collates information from a wide range of sources and displays this information in a manner that allows for quick comparison of different humanitarian crises.

The Global Overview is a weekly update that collates humanitarian information from a wide range of sources. Its primary objective is to rapidly inform humanitarian decision makers by presenting a summary of major humanitarian crises, both recent and protracted.

HIGHLIGHTS

• FAO’s first forecast for world wheat production in 2013 stands at 690 million tonnes, about 28 million tonnes up from 2012 and the second largest crop on record. The increase is expected mostly in Europe, driven by an expansion in area in response to high prices, and in some countries due to an expected recovery in yields from last year’s below-average levels.

• The international cereal prices in recent months have followed mixed trends with rice prices rising and wheat declining, while maize prices remaining generally steady.