Eradicating polio
Working towards a polio free Africa
Challenge
Polio is a highly infectious and debilitating disease and was once the leading cause of paralysis among children worldwide.
While great progress has been made, we still have a long way to go until polio is eradicated. To eliminate polio completely, every child in every household must be vaccinated.
Millions of children across Eastern and Southern Africa are missing out on routine vaccinations, including for polio. In 2023 an estimated 4 million children missed their routine 3rd dose of polio vaccines. Waning vaccine confidence is further hampering polio eradication efforts.
For many countries in the region, access is a key challenge. Children living in remote, fragile or conflict-affected areas, living as migrants, refugees, or IDPs, are missing out on vaccination campaigns and routine immunization. We see this in Somalia, a country battling type 2 variant poliovirus since 2017. This is the longest unbroken circulation of the poliovirus in a country worldwide.
Polio eradication is also heavily impacted by severe political and financial resource constraints. This results in insufficient urgency and prioritization of activities to end polio outbreaks.
Solution
To stop polio in its tracks, we need to:
- Reach more children with polio vaccines
- Strengthen routine immunization programmes
- Enhance preparedness and response to disease outbreaks
- Integrate vaccination efforts with other health services, like nutrition
- Intensify cross-border coordination and reach children on the move
- Enhance surveillance efforts
UNICEF and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), are supporting national governments and regional leadership to reach these goals.
UNICEF is urgently calling on governments and donors to ensure all children across Africa are vaccinated against the polio virus.