World polio day: WHO warns Africa’s eradication gains remain at risk

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that Africa’s progress towards polio eradication remains vulnerable to funding shortfalls, persistent virus transmission and gaps in vaccination coverage, despite millions of children being reached through immunisation campaigns across the continent.

Dr Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa, gave the warning on Friday to mark World Polio Day 2026, calling on governments to strengthen domestic investment in immunisation and urging international partners to provide predictable funding to sustain eradication efforts.

Janabi disclosed that more than 168 million children across 22 African countries received at least one dose of polio vaccine between January and September 2026 through 55 rounds of vaccination campaigns.

He said the achievement reflected the commitment of governments, health workers, community leaders and parents, but stressed that continued progress would depend on sustained vaccination, effective surveillance and rapid outbreak response.

“Every child deserves the chance to grow up free from polio,” Janabi said, noting that the preventable disease can cause irreversible paralysis and impose lasting physical, emotional and financial burdens on affected families.

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He warned that although Africa had recorded significant milestones in the fight against polio, the continent could not afford to become complacent while the virus continued to threaten under-immunised populations.

The WHO African Region was certified free of indigenous wild poliovirus in 2020, a landmark achievement that demonstrated the impact of sustained political leadership, vaccination campaigns and collective action.

Janabi also welcomed the closure of poliovirus type 2 outbreaks in Burundi, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, the Republic of the Congo and Uganda following independent assessments this year.

However, he said the detection of poliovirus type 1 in Madagascar, following the closure of an earlier outbreak in 2025, highlighted the danger of gaps in vaccination coverage.

He stressed that protecting Africa’s gains required continued investment in routine immunisation, strong surveillance systems, effective outbreak response and sustained engagement with communities.

Janabi expressed concern about financial constraints affecting polio eradication activities in some of the continent’s highest-risk areas, particularly the Lake Chad Basin and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

He said limited resources were forcing countries to prioritise vaccination campaigns in areas considered to face the greatest immediate risk, potentially leaving other vulnerable communities without adequate protection.

In the DRC, additional vaccination rounds needed to respond to the poliovirus type 2 outbreak remain unfunded, threatening progress towards the 2026 eradication goals.

The WHO Regional Director warned that delays in financing essential interventions could weaken outbreak response efforts and allow transmission to continue.

He called on governments to increase domestic investment and urged international partners to provide timely, predictable funding for vaccine delivery, surveillance and emergency response.

“Polio eradication is within reach, but it requires an emergency mindset, swift action, sustained financing, strong accountability and political commitment,” he said.

Janabi stressed that funding must be sufficient to reach children in vulnerable communities and sustain the interventions needed to interrupt transmission.

The WHO official said cooperation among neighbouring countries remained essential to preventing poliovirus from spreading across national borders.

He cited coordinated vaccination campaigns conducted in March across Angola, the DRC and Namibia, which reached more than 10 million children.

According to Janabi, laboratory evidence of genetically linked viruses helped guide the joint response, demonstrating the importance of sharing surveillance information and coordinating vaccination activities.

He urged countries to strengthen cross-border collaboration, exchange epidemiological data promptly and ensure that children in mobile and displaced populations were not missed.

Janabi also highlighted the challenges posed by conflict, insecurity, geographical isolation and concerns about vaccines, which continue to prevent some children from receiving adequate protection.

He said reaching every child through supplementary campaigns was not enough unless children also received all recommended vaccine doses through dependable routine immunisation services.

He called for vaccination services to be brought closer to families and urged health workers and community leaders to address parents’ concerns respectfully and build confidence in immunisation.

Janabi said investments in surveillance and laboratory capacity were improving the Region’s ability to detect poliovirus and guide timely interventions.

He disclosed that laboratories across the WHO African Region tested more than 100,000 polio samples in 2025, with over 90 per cent analysed within agreed timelines.

Regional sequencing capacity expanded from two to four laboratories, while the proportion of sequencing results delivered within the relevant timelines improved from below 50 per cent to nearly 70 per cent during the year.

He said the accreditation of Nigeria’s Maiduguri laboratory in 2026 had further strengthened regional diagnostic capacity.

Janabi also highlighted the potential of Direct Detection Nanopore Sequencing, a technology being piloted to reduce laboratory turnaround times and accelerate the availability of critical results for outbreak response.

Environmental surveillance, including wastewater testing, can detect poliovirus circulation before cases of paralysis are reported, while geospatial tools help health teams identify communities that vaccination campaigns may have missed.

He noted that these capabilities were also supporting responses to other public health emergencies, including the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the DRC.

Janabi said Africa’s polio eradication gains must be protected by integrating essential surveillance, laboratory and immunisation capacities into national health systems.

He pointed to the adoption of the Regional Framework for Polio Transition and Sustainability in the WHO African Region 2026–2035 by health ministers during the 76th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa in August.

The framework aims to preserve the technical expertise and infrastructure developed through eradication programmes while strengthening routine immunisation and emergency preparedness.

Janabi said governments must ensure that trained personnel, laboratory systems and surveillance networks remain functional as countries work towards eliminating poliovirus transmission.

He also acknowledged the contributions of Rotarians to advocacy, fundraising and community engagement.

The WHO Regional Director thanked Canada, the European Investment Bank, the Gates Foundation, Germany, the United Arab Emirates and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre, alongside other Global Polio Eradication Initiative partners and donors, for their support.

He said sustained international assistance, combined with stronger domestic financing and political ownership, would be critical to completing eradication efforts.

As the world marks World Polio Day 2026, Janabi urged governments, development partners, health workers and communities to renew their commitment to ending polio.

He called on African governments to strengthen routine immunisation, close vaccination gaps and ensure that outbreak response activities receive adequate funding.

He also urged international partners to provide predictable resources, particularly for countries facing persistent transmission and complex humanitarian challenges.

WHO, he said, would continue working alongside governments and communities to improve vaccination coverage, strengthen surveillance and support rapid, evidence-based outbreak response.

Janabi warned that the detection of poliovirus in vulnerable populations remained a threat to the continent’s eradication ambitions and that progress could not be sustained without continued vigilance.

He said the priority must be to protect existing gains, strengthen health systems and ensure that every child receives the full protection needed to live free from preventable paralysis.

“Together, we can consign polio to history and secure a polio-free Africa for every child,” Janabi said.