Massive Polio Vaccination Campaign Kicks Off In 4 African Countries - WHO

Africa's largest polio immunization campaign since 2020 kicks off on Friday in Cameroon, Chad and Niger, before expanding to the Central African Republic next week to reach a total of 21 million children, the World Health Organization (WHO) said

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th May, 2023) Africa's largest polio immunization campaign since 2020 kicks off on Friday in Cameroon, Chad and Niger, before expanding to the Central African Republic next week to reach a total of 21 million children, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

"Africa's largest polio vaccination campaign since 2020 kicks off today in three West and Central African countries, in a combined effort by national health authorities to immunise a total 21 million children under the age of five," WHO said in a statement.

The initiative is powered by WHO and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), and is being implemented by national health authorities in a synchronized effort to stop transmission of the disease in the four countries. The conflict-torn Lake Chad Basin region has one of the highest proportions of unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children in the world, and despite the best efforts of local health authorities, poliovirus type 2 continues to circulate in the population, according to WHO.

"This is a crucial undertaking to close vaccination gaps in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and will provide millions of children with vital protection from the risk of irreversible polio paralysis," Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, was quoted as saying in the statement.

The new campaign aims to strengthen immunization activities by equipping community health workers to administer vaccines in homes, and by organizing immunization booths in schools, markets and religious centers, the statement read.

Polio is a highly infectious disease that primarily affects children under the age of five and causes permanent paralysis or death. Circulating poliovirus type 2 is the most common form of polio in Africa, with more than 400 cases reported in 14 African countries, according to WHO.