Zambia undertakes the second round of the polio vaccination campaign to protect every child against polio

Country: Zambia Source: World Health Organization Lusaka, Zambia. Protecting children against polio requires continuous efforts to build strong immunity in communities against this life-threatening disease. This is why the Government of the Republic of Zambia, through the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and Rotary International is rolling out a second round of the Sub-National Immunization Activities (SIA) polio campaign, scheduled to take place from the 2nd to the 5th of June 2026. This new round focuses on the same six provinces covered during the first round named Lusaka, Southern, Eastern, Central, Western, and Muchinga and aims to reach more than 3.8 million children under five years of age. Delivering multiple doses through successive campaigns is essential to ensure full immunity and to interrupt any potential spread of poliovirus. The upcoming round builds on the strong success of the first round conducted in April 2026, which reached more about 3.8 million children across the country, overcoming the national target of 3.7 million. This achievement reflects the strong cooperation between the Ministry of Health, WHO, UNICEF, and other partners from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), as well as the tireless efforts of frontline health care workers (HCWs) and community-based volunteers (CBVs) who worked across communities, from health facilities to households, to ensure no child was left behind. Zambia’s Polio campaign is a response to the detection of poliovirus in environmental samples in Lusaka earlier this year, which prompted swift action to protect children and prevent further transmission. This effort did not happen in isolation, as also other countries in the region (Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Namibia), have also conducted the campaign fol...

Original source: Relief Web