Emergency Polio Vaccination Campaign Gets Under Way in Malawi

An emergency polio vaccination campaign is already under way in Malawi following the detection of its first case in 30 years.

The campaign will target nearly three million children under five years old in Malawi but also in three neighbouring countries.

According to the WHO representative in Malawi, Janet Kayita, It’s not just a Malawi effort, it’s a cross border as well with the three neighbouring countries. So the same team of experts is working not just with the Malawi government, but also with the governments of the three neighbouring countries to make sure that we have synchronised effort.

The virus was detected in a four-year old girl over a week ago. President Lazarus Chakwera declared a national health emergency ordering 14 million doses of the vaccine.

Africa was declared free of indigenous wild polio in August 2020 after an exhaustive immunisation campaign.

Polio has been largely eradicated but remains endemic in Pakistan and Afghanistan.