The commitments came at a dedicated meeting on polio at the Seventy-first WHO Regional Committee for Africa.
While the African Region was certified free of wild poliovirus one year ago following four years without a case, outbreaks of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV) continue to spread.
CVDPVs occur in communities where not enough children have received the polio vaccine. Cases increased last year in part because of disruptions to polio vaccination campaigns caused by COVID-19. Since 2018, 23 countries in the region have experienced outbreaks and more than half of the global 1071 cVDPV cases were recorded in Africa.
At the Regional Committee, countries discussed how they will begin implementing the new Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) 2022-2026 Strategy that was launched in June to urgently stop the spread of cVDPVs. The tools and tactics outlined in the Strategy to stop outbreaks include:
Improving the speed and quality of outbreak response, including through the rapid deployment of surge staff from the WHO Regional Office for Africa to support countries as soon as outbreaks are detected.
Further integrating polio campaigns with the delivery of essential health services and routine immunization to reach children who have never been vaccinated, help build trust with communities and improve uptake of the polio vaccine.
Broadening the rollout of the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2), a new tool that could more sustainably end outbreaks of type 2 cVDPV, which are the most prevalent. To date, six countries in Africa have rolled out the vaccine with close to 40 million children vaccinated and no concerns noted for safety.
The scorecard presented at the Regional Committee will track indicators for implementation of timely, high-quality polio outbreak response, readiness to introduce nOPV2 as the new vaccine becomes eligible for broader use, strengthening routine immunization to close immunity gaps, and transitioning polio assets into national health systems in a strategic, phased approach. Ministers committed to regularly reviewing progress together on each of these indicators to ensure collective success in urgently finishing the job on polio and securing a polio-free future for every child across the region.
Almost 100 million African children have been vaccinated against polio since July 2020, after activities were paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Regional Committee also discussed how to accelerate the transition of polio infrastructure into countries’ health systems, so that it can continue to support immunization and disease surveillance once polio is eradicated. The polio programme has a history of supporting the response to emerging health threats in the Region, including Ebola and COVID-19, and half of polio surge staff are currently helping countries with COVID-19 surveillance, contact tracing and community engagement.
Guest Editorial