More than 80 million doses will be administered to more than 23 million children under the age of five, as part of a four-stage vaccination campaign in five southern African countries against wild type poliovirus. 1, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Friday.
The first phase of these campaigns, scheduled for March, targets 9.4 million children in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia, after Malawi declared an outbreak on February 17. The outbreak is the first of its kind in the country in 30 years, and the first in Africa since the region was certified free of indigenous wild poliovirus in 2020, according to the WHO regional office for Africa.
Three subsequent campaigns, in which Zimbabwe will also take part, are planned for April, June and July, aiming to reach more than 23 million children with more than 80 million doses of the WHO-recommended bivalent oral polio vaccine against wild poliovirus (type 1).
“Polio is a highly infectious and untreated disease that can cause permanent paralysis. In support of Malawi and its neighbours, we are moving quickly to stem this outbreak and eradicate the threat through effective immunization activities,” the ministry said. Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.
“The African region has already overcome the wild poliovirus through a considerable effort by the countries. We have the know-how and we work tirelessly to ensure that every child lives and thrives in a polio-free continent,” she said. .
The African region was declared and certified free of indigenous wild poliovirus in August 2020, having eliminated all forms of wild poliovirus. The Region’s certification as free from wild poliovirus remains valid.