BRAZZAVILLE — Five African nations have successfully stopped the spread of polio, marking a significant milestone in the continent’s battle against the debilitating disease, the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Africa has confirmed.
Following rigorous technical assessments conducted between January and June 2026, independent teams concluded that transmission has been interrupted in Burundi, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, the Republic of Congo, and Uganda. The WHO Regional Office for Africa has now formally confirmed the closure of these poliovirus type 2 outbreaks.
“These outbreak closures demonstrate what can be achieved through strong national leadership, dedicated health workers and close collaboration between governments, communities and partners,” said Dr Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa.
“While this is an important milestone, it is not the end of the journey. Continued vigilance, strong surveillance and high immunisation coverage remain essential to protect children and prevent future outbreaks.”
The closures reflect years of sustained government leadership across the five countries, alongside the dedication of health workers, communities and international partners. Assessments of outbreak response quality, population immunity, disease surveillance performance and vaccination campaigns confirmed the successful interruption of transmission.
However, health authorities have cautioned against complacency, warning that the risk of poliovirus reimportation remains. The recent detection of the virus in Madagascar, following its previous outbreak closure, underscores the need to sustain high-quality surveillance and strong population immunity.
Diverse Approaches, Common Success
Despite their different contexts, all five countries demonstrated that rapid detection, strong government leadership, sustained disease surveillance, community engagement and quality immunisation efforts are critical to interrupting poliovirus transmission.
In the Republic of the Congo, authorities strengthened surveillance and implemented multiple high-quality vaccination campaigns following virus detections. Their last detection was reported in December 2023, with subsequent efforts focused on maintaining disease surveillance sensitivity and closing immunity gaps in high-risk areas.
Burundi, which declared a circulating poliovirus type 2 outbreak in March 2023, quickly intensified routine vaccination and surveillance efforts with support from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). Targeted vaccination campaigns, strengthened epidemiological investigations and expanded environmental surveillance helped interrupt transmission.
Ugandan health authorities intensified disease surveillance and outbreak response activities following virus detection in May 2024, while maintaining strong coordination across national and subnational levels.
In Ghana, laboratory investments complemented high-quality disease surveillance and rapid outbreak response activities. Both Ghana and Uganda upgraded their lab capacity earlier this year, further strengthening their ability to detect and respond rapidly to poliovirus and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
Guinea-Bissau focused on reaching underserved populations through targeted vaccination campaigns and enhanced disease surveillance, helping to strengthen population immunity. The country has reported no poliovirus detections since July 2021.
‘Progress Is Possible’
“Every outbreak closed means more children protected from a disease that can cause lifelong paralysis,” said Mike McGovern, Chair of the GPEI Polio Oversight Board and Rotary International’s International PolioPlus Committee. “Rotary is proud to stand alongside governments and health workers across Africa as we continue the effort to end polio once and for all.”
UNICEF Regional Directors Etleva Kadilli and Gilles Fagninou praised the achievement, saying: “These milestones belong first and foremost to the governments, communities and frontline health workers who have worked tirelessly to protect children from polio. Their dedication shows that progress is possible, even in the most challenging settings.”
They stressed, however, that “outbreak closures are an important milestone, they are not the end of the work. We must keep our focus on strengthening routine immunisation and reaching every child with lifesaving interventions, so that this progress is sustained.”
Wider Impact Beyond Polio
Thabani Maphosa, Gavi’s Chief Country Delivery Officer, noted that the investments countries have made in reaching missed children, community engagement, strengthened surveillance, mapping and outbreak response will have impact far beyond these polio outbreaks.
“They strengthen our ability to ensure that every child remains safe from polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases, and to protect communities against infectious disease outbreaks,” Maphosa said.
As part of broader regional efforts, countries have strengthened acute flaccid paralysis and environmental surveillance systems, improved laboratory capacity, reinforced community engagement to build trust in vaccines, and implemented targeted vaccination campaigns aimed at reaching every child, including those in hard-to-reach and border areas.
In 2025, the Region accelerated investments in modernising its polio laboratory network, enhancing diagnostic capacity and reducing turnaround times for poliovirus detection. The expanded use of AFRO Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and geospatial technologies has also helped countries identify missed settlements, map population movements and ensure vaccination teams reach every last child.
Ongoing Support
Countries acknowledged the critical contributions of Canada, the European Investment Bank, the Gates Foundation, Germany and the UAE, in addition to all GPEI donors, for their sustained and generous support to polio eradication efforts in the region.
The outbreak closures underscore the effectiveness of coordinated response efforts and reinforce the Region’s commitment to achieving a future free of all forms of poliovirus.
Polio is a highly infectious disease that can cause irreversible paralysis. There is no cure, but it can be prevented through safe and effective vaccination. Outbreak closure does not eliminate the risk of future detections or importations, making continued surveillance, vaccination and preparedness essential to sustain gains and prevent new outbreaks.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is a public-private partnership led by national governments with six partners — the World Health Organization, Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, the Gates Foundation and Gavi, the vaccine alliance — working toward the goal of eradicating polio worldwide.
Source: WHO
