Ethiopia conducted a polio vaccination campaign in five regions (Afar, Amhara, Gambella, Addis Ababa, and Sheger City of Oromia Region) with type 2 novel oral polio vaccine (nOPV2) targeting over 5.6 million aged below five years aiming to prevent transmission & circulation of variant poliovirus outbreaks. The campaign was officially launched by the Ministry of Health (MoH), Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI), World Health Organization (WHO) and other GPEI polio partners in Semera, Afar.

The variant poliovirus called circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPVs) can emerge if the weakened virus from oral polio vaccine shed from the children vaccinated OPV through feces and get chance to circulate for long enough in the intestinal tracts of unvaccinated children where there are too many unvaccinated children, they can mutate back into active virus and can cause paralyze.

Dr. Owen L. Kaluwa, WHO Representative in Ethiopia delivered a keynote address on behalf of the Country Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) partners which include the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Global Vaccine Alliance Imitative (Gavi). 

During his address, Dr Kaluwa emphasized “Ethiopia is currently experiencing variant polio virus outbreaks and the country has remained at high risk for polio virus transmission, importation and circulation of variant polio virus. This calls for collaborative efforts by all partners and stakeholders to ensure adequate and effective response. I would like to firstly thank the Government of Ethiopia for the leadership and the significant decision to conduct this vaccination campaign in five regions; and recognize the successful conduct of two rounds of nOPV2 vaccination campaign for Tigray Region in April and June 2024, which reached over 1.7 million Children below 10 years, with two doses of the polio vaccine.”

H.E. Mr. Ali Mahmoud, Afar Regional State Vice President and Economic Cluster Coordinator kicked off the vaccination at Semera Health Center along with other honorable guests including Dr Mesay Hailu, Director General of EPHI Dr Melkamu Abte, Deputy Director of EPHI, Professor Bogale Worku, the National Polio Certification Committee Chair and Mr Yasin Habib, Afar Regional Health Bureau Head, along with the participation from WHO, UNICEF, other GPEI and extended polio partners, religious and clan leaders, the community and media.

This first round nOPV2 campaign was carried out efficiently in all the target woredas. The readiness assessment which was conducted prior to the campaign showed an average of > 90% preparedness level. The deliverables including vaccine and other logistic supplies were adequate to fulfill the campaign needs. The supervisors deployed from the central and regional level, including WHO officers, and the WHO supported supervision made through Independent Monitoring (IM) and the Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) have played a significant role to monitor and measure the performance and achieve a high-quality result. The WCO Ethiopia’s support, both technically and financially, was highly significant in the coordination, supervision, and monitoring activities. 

Ethiopia has initially launched a polio vaccination campaign nationally with type 2 novel oral polio vaccine (nOPV2) on 22 October 2021 aiming to end the circulation of cVDPV2 outbreaks in the country. 

The campaign period was used as an opportunity to look for AFP cases and identify and vaccinate zero dose children during the house-to-house visits. The reported AFP cases were verified, and stool specimens were collected and sent to the national Polio laboratory for confirmation. Moreover, the Adverse Event following immunization (AEFI) cases were reported and the majority were minor AEFI cases. 

The five regions nOPV2 vaccination campaign was financially supported by the Gates foundation and Rotary International through WHO and UNICEF.