Abuja – The African region has made significant strides in the fight against polio, reaching a monumental achievement in August 2020 when the region was certified as free of indigenous wild polio after eliminating all forms of wild poliovirus. Professor Tunji Funsho, chair of Rotary’s Nigeria National PolioPlus Committee, discusses the milestones and challenges in the polio fight.

What are the major highlights of the decades-long polio fight in Africa?

As Rotarians, we would like to highlight the decrease of more than 99.9% in polio cases since 1988, and the fact that 20 million people have been spared disability. Over 900 000 polio-related deaths have also been averted.  

Two of the three strains of wild poliovirus have also been certified eradicated (type 2 in 2015 and type 3 in 2019), and the African Region has taken a global lead in the introduction and rollout of the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2).  

We want to also mark the fact that Africa has also maintained its status of being certified free of indigenous wild poliovirus despite the recent WPV1 cases (1 in Malawi, 7 in Mozambique) reported in the Region, as those do not currently affect Africa´s certification. 

Where should the focus be in the current fight against polio?

Africa has been focused on getting back on track to eliminate all forms of the poliovirus. The region is working diligently to ensure timely detection of variant polioviruses, and speedy and high-quality outbreak response. 

With special focus on reaching ‘zero-dose’ children, the African region is working to strengthen routine immunization and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.​ Eradicating polio will infuse new belief, new momentum, and new energy to other major public health initiatives. From a purely health economic point of view, our ‘best buy’ is to ensure eradication and use the proven polio tools to strengthen our broader health emergency response and national health systems.  

Failure to eradicate polio will result in global resurgence of the disease. Some models predict that if not eradicated, within 10 years, the world would again see 200 000 new cases every single year.  

What challenges are there in the ongoing efforts to end polio?

The detections of wild poliovirus have increased to eight cases in the region: between Malawi (1) and Mozambique (7) since the importation of the first case in Malawi.  

Despite closing of outbreaks in some countries, the region is also grappling with new increasing cases of the polio variant, and so routine immunization and environmental surveillance require enhancement for quality and implementation. 

Advocacy and support for countries to prioritize polio transition is vital, given it is the mechanism to strengthen national public health systems, especially for essential immunizations and emergency preparedness and response. 

How critical is the support of the polio programme to other health emergencies?

The tremendous legacies that the polio eradication initiative will leave are unprecedented and their value will remain with us beyond polio eradication. These legacies include the removal of the suffering caused by the disease; the monetary savings on the treatment and prevention of polio; a stronger infrastructure for routine immunization, disease surveillance, health management, and the delivery of other health interventions; also, greater visibility of health services generally and immunization in particular; and the establishment of a platform for preventive health services.