Two rounds of polio vaccination campaigns were conducted using novel Oral Polio Vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) in Tigray region of Ethiopia to prevent transmission and circulation of variant polio viruses. Round one campaign was conducted from 23 - 28 April 2024 in 79 accessible woredas, while second round was from 10 - 15 June 2024 followed by a mop-up vaccination for two days.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) has introduced the novel OPV type two (nOPV2) vaccine as a critical new tool to ensure all forms of polio viruses are eradicated and Ethiopia launched nOPV2 vaccine in October 2021 targeting over 17 million under-five children.

Polio is a highly contagious disease caused by a polio virus that attacks the nervous system and 1 out of 200 infected children with the virus face the risk of death or permanent paralysis with lifelong disabilities. Polio has no cure and there is no other way to stop its spread than to immunize children at the earliest possible age during childhood.

The nOPV2 vaccine has been used for the last three years after receiving WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL) to protect children from polio outbreak. Approximately a billion doses of nOPV2 have been delivered since EUL approval, and surveillance data confirms that the vaccine is working as intended. The World Health Organization (WHO) prequalified the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) for use in outbreaks response for type 2 variant poliovirus (cVDPV2) in December 2023. The development of nOPV2 builds upon decades of research on oral polio vaccines.

The nOPV2 campaign in Tigray region was officially launched on 23 April 2024 by the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) and the Tigray Regional Health Bureau (RHB). WHO, UNICEF and other polio partners and stakeholders supported this vaccination campaign.

Dr Owen L. Kaluwa, WHO Ethiopia Representative, in a speech read on his behalf by Dr Abay Hagos, Polio Officer stated that “The World Health Organization was committed to collaborate with the government and partners for the implementation of this vaccination campaign in Tigray and indeed for the overall polio eradication program in Ethiopia.” He further highlighted that this vaccination campaign was a good opportunity to improve routine immunization coverage in the region as children with zero dose and under-immunized would be identified during the house-to-house visits and ensuring linkage to immunization services.” WHO also emphasized that quality vaccination campaigns with high coverage are required to ensure high population immunity and attain the set objectives.

Dr. Amanuel Haile, Head Tigray Regional Health Bureau highlighted the importance of the vaccination campaign for the region and acknowledged the support of polio partners that contributed to the conduct of the house-to-house nOPV2 vaccination campaign. The campaign target was to vaccinate a total of 1,987,218 children of age below 10 years. Unfortunately, 14 Woredas were not accessible which resulted in only 1,768, 810 children being reached. Children from the Internally Displaced People (IDPS) sites were also vaccinated both in the IDP camps and within the host-community.

The Tigray Region nOPV2 vaccination campaign was financially supported by the Gates foundation and Rotary International through WHO and UNICEF, which also included resource mobilization, technical support, coordination, planning, implementation, and monitoring.