Press Release: Sudan launches a catch-up campaign against polio and yellow fever
KHARTOUM, 28 December 2022 – Tomorrow the Federal Ministry of Health in Sudan, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) will launch a catch-up vaccination campaign to vaccinate children against polio and yellow fever from 29 December 2022 to 3 January 2023.
This campaign will cover the Darfur states as well as Sennar state in efforts to increase vaccination coverage and further vaccine equity in all parts of Sudan by reaching out to cover the birth cohort who missed their routine polio IPV vaccine. For this reason, the main target of this campaign will be children between 5 and 7.5 years of age.
The catch-up campaign was in the making for many months; however, it also comes after the confirmation of a variant type 2 poliovirus (cVDPV2) in a young boy aged 4 years of age in Kereinik locality of West Darfur, Sudan on 16 December 2022.
“This campaign comes at a crucial time as Sudan prepares to strengthen immunity against the recently declared outbreak of poliovirus. I urge parents and caregivers to ensure that children receive vaccination in this subnational round which boosts immunity against paralysis. The teams are also assessing the scope and timing of further vaccination rounds. Together, we closed a polio outbreak before – a testament to the dedication and skill of Sudan’s health workers and the leadership of its Federal Ministry of Health – and we can do it again,” said Dr Nima Saeed Abid, the WHO Representative in Sudan.
Last week, the partners worked on a mechanism to activate the polio outbreak preparedness and response plan, which includes strengthening routine immunization, enhancing surveillance systems and preparing for a nationwide polio campaign that is planned to take place in the upcoming weeks after environmental sampling returned a positive result, which suggests active community spread.
In August 2022, Sudan successfully closed the 2020 poliovirus outbreak that affected 58 children in 15 out of 18 states. Backed by UNICEF and WHO, the Federal Ministry of Health successfully organized 2 nationwide vaccination campaigns targeting children under 5 years of age to contain the spread of poliovirus, reaching over 95% of the target population. Community engagement and social mobilization efforts were stepped up to ensure information about the dangers of the disease and the need to immunize every eligible child reached every household. The country also vaccinated children for the first time during a campaign in the Ullu area of Blue Nile and Jabal Marah, and improved surveillance for acute flaccid paralysis by expansion of environmental surveillance to 14 additional sites in 6 states.
Immunization saves lives. It protects children and their communities and protects future generations by eradicating diseases.
“Polio is a highly infectious and incurable disease that mainly affects young children. It leads to paralysis and in some cases death. Immunization is the best way to protect children from this scourge, and we urge all parents to ensure their children receive the polio vaccine, and all other routine immunizations, so that they are protected. Any child who is not fully vaccinated is vulnerable to polio, and UNICEF will support partners and communities to reach all children with life-saving vaccines,” said Mandeep O’Brien, UNICEF’s representative in Sudan.
Sudan’s last reported polio case (a case of wild poliovirus) was in March 2009 and the country was declared polio-free in 2015 by WHO. However, it has been considered at high risk for importation of polioviruses for several years due to a decline in population immunity.
The campaign launched today follows efforts to secure sufficient vaccines, ensure the necessary cold chain facilities as well as district level microplanning and provide refresher training for vaccinators so that the services delivered are of high quality. UNICEF and WHO support immunization programmes and will continue to ensure that no child is left behind.
Media contacts
1. Owen Watkins, Chief of Communication, Advocacy & Partnerships, UNICEF Sudan,
2. Reem Abbas, Communication Specialist, UNICEF Sudan,
3. Rimsha Qureshi, Communications Officer, WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean,
About UNICEF Sudan
UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone.
For more information about UNICEF and our work for children, visit www.unicef.org/sudan/
Follow UNICEF on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
About WHO Sudan
The World Health Organization in Sudan works in close collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and partners to support the country in reaching its national health development goals and to ensure that all health efforts are coordinated.
For more information about WHO, visit www.who.int/countries/sdn/en/
Circulating variant type 2 (cVDPV2) poliovirus outbreak confirmed in Sudan
KHARTOUM, 22 December 2022 – On 16 December 2022, a case of a variant type 2 poliovirus (cVDPV2) was confirmed in a young boy aged four years in West Darfur, Sudan. The virus detected is most closely related to a strain circulating in Borno, Nigeria, in 2021, and is unrelated to the poliovirus variant that affected Sudan in 2020 and which was successfully closed in September 2022.
Within 24 hours of the new confirmed case, the Sudan Federal Ministry of Health, with the support of World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other partners, led field investigations to assess the extent of circulation of the virus and started preparations for the appropriate outbreak response. Per international guidance and experience, response vaccination campaigns are being planned, along with the strengthening of surveillance for acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) and suspected poliomyelitis to ensure rapid detection of any transmission.
“In 2020, during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sudan reported its first few cases of variant type 2 poliovirus. At that time, despite multiple health emergencies, we mobilized all our resources to reach children with polio vaccine in nationwide campaigns to successfully stop the outbreak. We have complete confidence in our health workers and health systems to stop this outbreak, as well,” says Dr Dalya Eltayeb, Director General for Primary Health Care, Federal Ministry of Health, Sudan.
Sudan successfully mounted a robust response to the 2020 poliovirus outbreak with two high-quality campaigns across all 18 states, vaccinating more than 8 million children under five. Efforts were made at district, state and federal level to improve surveillance for acute flaccid paralysis. Sudan’s environmental surveillance programme, the testing of wastewater for poliovirus, was also expanded to 14 sites.
The presence of just one infected child places children across the country at incredible risk. Given the ongoing population movement within the country and across international borders, active polio outbreaks in neighbouring countries and low immunity to type 2 poliovirus, there is a high risk of transmission and international spread. This new outbreak underlines the importance of strong routine immunization systems, in addition to supplementary vaccination activities, to protect children from vaccine-preventable diseases.
Sudan can protect all its children from preventable diseases by immunizing all its children.
More details on the upcoming vaccination campaigns will be communicated by the Federal Ministry of Health, WHO and UNICEF.
Getting ahead of the game
Qatar, supported by WHO, ramps up surveillance for polio during the FIFA World Cup 2022
Around the time when the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup tournament was introduced, in 1930, children didn’t have access to polio vaccines. Additionally, systems to search for polio symptoms in children were most likely weak across the world. This scenario has changed now.
To prepare for an estimated 1.2 million football fans congregating in Qatar to watch the World Cup tournament, the Government of Qatar took several measures to mitigate risks associated with the spread of diseases, including polio. As part of these interventions, the country requested the World Health Organization (WHO) for technical support to assess and improve surveillance for polio.
Taking stock of existing disease surveillance systems
To kick off these efforts, after months of joint planning and coordination, a team from WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region visited Qatar at the end of September 2022 to conduct an elaborate review of the surveillance system for acute flaccid paralysis (AFP). They examined activities at four main health care facilities − where both Qataris and visitors in the country frequently visit − to assess their contribution to AFP surveillance.
The team also conducted a virtual capacity development session for more than 200 public and private health professionals to understand the global and regional polio situation, and the importance of AFP surveillance and case reporting.
Reviewing systems to detect and respond to polio cases
On noting the recent spread of polioviruses across the world, and ease with which viruses can be transmitted, WHO sensitized officials at the Ministry of Public Health on the standard operating procedures for polio outbreaks. This includes a template to develop a national preparedness plan for a polio outbreak.
As next steps, the team conducted a polio outbreak simulation exercise to test the level of preparedness and the blueprint of activities that should be conducted in case of an outbreak. The POSE ensures users are aware of activities to conduct within the crucial first 72 hours of confirmation of a polio outbreak. This exercise also aimed to ensure all existing tools in use are valid, and refreshed health officials’ knowledge on the different kinds of polioviruses that exist and vaccines that can be used to boost immunity.
Need to strengthen AFP case notification
One of the most highly developed countries in the Region, Qatar has a state-of-the-art online health client database, which is used by 90% of health service providers. The country also uses unique codes for all residents regardless of their nationality, which helps them manage infectious disease outbreaks. Health facilities offer high quality of health care, which encourages communities’ uptake in health services. Taking this into account, the surveillance review revealed that the electronic health system in Qatar is able to track AFP cases once notified.
The country, however, faces challenges in the notification of AFP cases, largely due to the lack of a comprehensive list of diseases related to AFP in the electronic databases currently in use in health facilities and hospitals. Additionally, physicians lack awareness about AFP and case notification, which is attributed to Qatar being polio-free since 1990.
Recommendations for stronger surveillance of polio
Recommendations made by WHO to the Ministry of Public Health are aimed at developing the capacity of staff to notify AFP cases early; conduct regular active search for children with AFP, including through active surveillance visits; and execute 60-day follow up examination for AFP cases. The WHO team also advised Qatar to maintain updated and functional AFP surveillance guidelines, and a national preparedness and response plan for polio outbreaks and response.
WHO also encouraged the Ministry of Public Health to set up a system for environmental surveillance to search for polioviruses in sewage and wastewater at prime sites across the country. This would help to cast a wider net to search for any poliovirus both in visitors and communities living in the country.
Qatar plays a key role in polio eradication
The Government of Qatar is a key partner in polio eradication efforts. Qatar’s Minister of Public Health, HE Dr Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari has been serving as the co-chair of the Regional Subcommittee for Polio Eradication and Outbreaks in the Eastern Mediterranean Region since February 2022. In this capacity, HE Dr Al Kuwari has been instrumental in shining the spotlight on the current status of polio in the Region and efforts needed to end polio by the end of 2023.
World Polio Day 2022: Stronger together to end polio globally
Polio Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region calls for people at all levels to act to end polio
Credit: WHOAmman, 24 October 2022 –On World Polio Day, marked on 24 October across the world, countries around the world are stepping up efforts to end polio.
This year’s theme for the day has been ‘Together We End Polio’ and emphasis has been on how polio eradication efforts also play a key role in improving both children’s and mothers’ access to vaccines and other health and nutritional services.
At present, only 2 countries worldwide remain with indigenous transmission of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) – Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Afghanistan, in 2022, the WPV1 has left 2 children paralyzed, whereas in Pakistan, 20 children have been affected this year.
So far, 33 countries have outbreaks of variant polioviruses, which can also cause paralysis in children. These include the United Kingdom (UK) and United States of America (USA), Israel and Malawi. Yemen and Somalia are among high-risk countries where variant polioviruses continue to circulate incessantly.
Despite the circulation of WPV1 and the variant polioviruses, the world and Eastern Mediterranean Region have made incredible progress. Since 1988, when the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) was set up, polio cases have plummeted by 99% from an estimated annual total of 350 000. Additionally, governments and communities in both Afghanistan and Pakistan have been showing their highest levels of commitment towards polio eradication.
In a live interview with the WHO’s Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean on World Polio Day, Dr Hamid Jafari, Polio Director for WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region emphasized everyone has a role to play: caregivers must make concerted efforts to have their children vaccinated during immunization campaigns or at health facilities; and policymakers and donors can support the polio eradication programme, which also strengthens the response to health emergencies such as COVID-19. He added the media also has a role to play in raising awareness around the benefits of polio vaccination.
Dr Jafari also stressed that polio is a health emergency of international concern, and that while countries with outbreaks and indigenous transmission of poliovirus need to urgently stop transmission, countries that haven’t been affected yet still need to be prepared to detect polio and respond to outbreaks.
Dr Jafari thanked polio health workers for the sacrifices they make to reach every child possible, in addition to donors who have stepped up efforts to end polio. At a recent pledging event, organized by the GPEI, at the World Health Summit in October 2022, donors committed to supporting eradication efforts with US$ 2.6 million, which will go towards reaching more vulnerable children with vaccines among other crucial activities.
Listen back to the interview at the @WHOEMRO twitter account: https://twitter.com/WHOEMRO/status/1584157258321383424 (From 14 min onwards)
