By Bilkis Abdulraheem Lawal
As the world marks World Polio Day 2025, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has applauded Africa’s remarkable progress towards eradicating polio and renewed its call to protect every child from this preventable disease.
The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Mohamed Janabi, in a statement to commemorate the day, highlighted this year’s theme , “End Polio: Every Child, Every Vaccine, Everywhere”, as a reminder of the collective responsibility to ensure no child is left unprotected.
According to WHO, the continent continues to make significant strides through stronger cross-border coordination, improved laboratory capacity, enhanced surveillance, and the use of digital tools to improve vaccination efficiency and equity.
Between January and October 2025, fifteen African countries vaccinated nearly 200 million children through supplementary immunization rounds. Thirteen of these countries conducted synchronized campaigns, including those in conflict-affected regions. In the Horn of Africa, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia jointly vaccinated more than 18 million children, demonstrating the power of regional collaboration.
In the Lake Chad Basin and Sahel, a coordinated campaign launched in April by Health Ministers across the sub-region targeted 83 million children, ensuring that border communities were not left behind.
These concerted efforts are yielding results. The number of African countries with active type 2 poliovirus outbreaks declined from 24 in 2024 to 14 in 2025, representing a 54% drop in virus detections. Madagascar also declared the end of its type 1 poliovirus outbreak in May 2025, following an intensive response and sustained surveillance.
WHO also noted significant system improvements. By mid-2025, eleven WHO-supported laboratories expanded genomic sequencing capacity, while six began piloting advanced techniques. Uganda’s Sanger facility received full accreditation earlier in the year, improving detection and variant tracking.
Environmental surveillance has also grown, with 98% of African countries now monitoring wastewater and sewage for polioviruses, a key step in detecting transmission early.
Digital innovation is transforming frontline work, with over 850,000 health workers now receiving digital payments through mobile platforms, improving accountability and timeliness. Geospatial mapping by the WHO AFRO GIS Centre has also enabled countries to reach nomadic and border communities previously missed during vaccination rounds.
Dr. Janabi, however, cautioned that challenges remain, including vaccine hesitancy, insecurity, and interruptions to routine immunization.
“Ending polio in Africa means more than halting transmission, it’s about strengthening the systems, workforce, and resilience of health services. The last mile is always the hardest, but also the most important,” he said.
WHO reaffirmed its commitment to support countries in sustaining cross-border coordination, expanding surveillance, and ensuring every child, everywhere, receives every vaccine.
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