Governments urged to step up support for polio vaccination coverage

AFRICAN countries, including Zimbabwe, remain at risk of a polio outbreak amid calls for governments and donors to urgently step up support in terms of polio vaccination coverage, two opinion leaders on health matters have said.

United Nations Children’s Education Fund (Unicef) regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Ms Etleva Kadilli and the president of Global Development at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr Christopher Elias said it is important for high population immunity against polio to be maintained.

They said efforts to increase routine polio vaccination coverage and strengthen disease surveillance for early detection of cases remain top priorities.

In a joint paper, to mark the 50th anniversary of the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), Ms Kadilli and Dr Elias warned that with a lack of commitment, the virus could quickly make a comeback and paralyse thousands of children again, every year.

They urged Governments, partners and donors to fully and urgently step up and support in terms of polio vaccination coverage.

“We did it for smallpox and we can do it again, it is humanly possible. Diseases like smallpox used to be inevitable, however, thanks to the life-saving power of vaccines and global collaboration, decades have passed since the last case,” said Ms Kadilli and Dr Elias.

“Health workers, community members and global leaders came together to eradicate smallpox permanently.”

Ms Kadilli and Dr Elias said shortly after the historic feat, the world turned its attention to eradicating polio, another debilitating and preventable disease that attacks the nervous system.

Polio can cause lifelong paralysis or even death. However, due to vaccines, health workers’ dedication and decades of global collaboration, wild polio cases have fallen by 99,9 percent.

“New data released reveals that global immunisation efforts have saved an estimated 154 million lives over the past 50 years and have contributed to reducing infant deaths by more than 50 percent across Africa,” noted Ms Kadilli and Dr Elias.

“However, making history is never easy. Despite decades of dedication and leadership from African health Ministers and other Government leaders, challenges to reaching all children with polio vaccines remain.”

The paper noted that the Covid-19-related disruptions to vaccine delivery fuelled the largest backslide in immunisation in three decades as health systems were overwhelmed and resources diverted, leaving the most vulnerable without protection.

In 2022, Malawi followed by Mozambique, reported the first cases of wild polio-virus in Africa in over five years, and the cases were imported. Due to the drops in immunisation coverage, 15 countries in the region including Zimbabwe have been fighting to stop ongoing variant polio outbreaks since 2021.

They said strong routine immunisation coverage is critical when it comes to stopping polio.

In Eastern and Southern Africa, 4,6 million children missed out on routine immunisation during the pandemic.

“Eradicating polio requires at least 95 percent vaccine coverage to stop the virus circulation and strong routine immunisation to prevent new infections. Despite efforts to boost immunisation rates, the same children continue to be missed,” said Ms Kadilli and Dr Elias.

“These ‘zero-dose’ children, who have never been reached with any vaccines, often live in the hardest-to-reach areas, leaving them at risk of illness or even death from preventable diseases such as measles and polio.”

Ms Kadilli and Dr Elias said for vaccination to happen, it’s vital for leaders across Africa to invest in their health systems and vaccines and publicly demonstrate their support for polio vaccination and wider immunisation.