Zambia Launches a Nationwide Polio Vaccination Campaign to Protect Every Child Under Five
Zambia, through its Ministry of Health and Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) partners, has launched a nationwide polio vaccination campaign, dubbed Sub National Immunization Day (SNID), at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka. This initiative aims to vaccinate 3.7 million children under five across six provinces, utilizing the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2), a next-generation vaccine proven effective in over 40 countries. The campaign's urgency stems from the recent detection of poliovirus in wastewater samples in Lusaka, following similar detections in neighboring countries. Minister of Health Dr. Alex Katakwe emphasized the proactive nature of the campaign, urging parents and caregivers to ensure all eligible children are vaccinated, even if previously immunized, to close immunity gaps and prevent the virus from causing irreversible harm. Two additional rounds of vaccination are planned later in the year to ensure comprehensive protection. Zambia is joining other Southern African nations like Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Namibia in a regional response to combat polio. The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, as part of GPEI, are actively supporting the campaign by procuring and distributing 4,437,500 doses of polio vaccines to 116 districts and 3,500 health facilities, highlighting the collaborative effort to eradicate this debilitating disease.
