The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that funding shortages and gaps in vaccination coverage threaten Africa’s progress towards polio eradication, urging governments and development partners to sustain investments to protect children across the continent.
The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Mohamed Janabi, gave the warning in his message to mark World Polio Day 2026.
Janabi stressed that despite significant progress, poliovirus transmission remained a major public health concern in some countries
He said the detection of poliovirus type 1 in Madagascar, following the closure of an earlier outbreak in 2025, demonstrated how easily gains could be reversed when vulnerable communities were missed during vaccination campaigns.
He alsoe noted that although the WHO African Region was certified free of indigenous wild poliovirus in 2020, sustained vaccination, effective surveillance and rapid outbreak response remained essential to achieving complete eradication.
According to him, independent assessments this year confirmed the closure of poliovirus type 2 outbreaks in Burundi, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, the Republic of the Congo and Uganda.
Janabi disclosed that more than 168 million children received at least one dose of polio vaccine between January and September 2026 through 55 vaccination campaign rounds across 22 African countries.
He, however, expressed concern that financial constraints were forcing countries to prioritise high-risk areas, leaving other vulnerable communities without adequate protection, particularly in the Lake Chad Basin and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The WHO regional director said additional vaccination rounds required to respond to the type 2 outbreak in the DRC remained unfunded, threatening progress towards the 2026 eradication targets.
He stressed that children needed all recommended vaccine doses and dependable routine immunisation services, warning that conflict, displacement, distance and vaccine hesitancy continued to prevent some families from accessing essential protection.
Janabi also highlighted the importance of cross-border cooperation, citing coordinated vaccination campaigns conducted in March across Angola, the DRC and Namibia, which protected more than 10 million children.
He said surveillance systems were being strengthened through wastewater testing, geospatial technology and laboratory innovations to identify poliovirus circulation and help health authorities respond before more children were affected.
According to him, laboratories across the region tested more than 100,000 polio samples in 2025, with over 90 per cent analysed within agreed timelines, while sequencing capacity expanded from two to four laboratories.
He added that the accreditation of Nigeria’s Maiduguri laboratory had further strengthened regional capacity, while new technologies, including Direct Detection Nanopore Sequencing, offered opportunities to reduce laboratory turnaround times and accelerate outbreak responses.
Janabi said the regional Framework for Polio Transition and Sustainability in the WHO African Region 2026–2035, adopted by African health ministers in August, would help integrate polio expertise into national health systems and strengthen routine immunisation and emergency preparedness.
He commended health workers, community leaders, parents, Rotary International and other partners for their contributions, while calling on governments to demonstrate sustained political leadership and domestic investment and urging international partners to provide predictable funding.
“Polio eradication is within reach, but it requires an emergency mindset, swift action, sustained financing, strong accountability and political commitment,” Janabi said, urging countries to protect existing gains and ensure every child receives the vaccination needed for a polio-free Africa.
