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In 2023, 541 children worldwide were found to be impacted by polio, with 85 per cent residing in 21 countries that are either fragile or are affected by conflict, according to a recent analysis by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on World Polio Day which is observed on October 24.
In these fragile and conflict-affected countries, polio cases have more than doubled over the past five years.
The disease mainly affects children under five years of age but an unvaccinated person of any age can contract the disease.
In these countries, routine childhood immunisation rates have decreased from 75 to 70 per cent, significantly lower than the 95 percent required for the community immunity.
Countries facing conflict, natural disasters and humanitarian crises are struggling to provide routine childhood immunisations which makes polio eradication a mounting challenge.
A global decline in childhood immunisation has led to an increase in polio outbreaks, including in countries that had been polio-free for decades.
Out of 21 countries battling polio, 15 are situated in fragile or conflict zones including Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen.
In Sudan, national childhood vaccination coverage plummeted from 85 per cent before the war to 53 per cent in 2023, while in active conflict zones, the coverage has dropped to just 30 per cent.
Recently, UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) have conducted polio vaccination campaigns.
Around 560,000 children under ten years old were vaccinated against polio during the first round of an emergency vaccination campaign conducted in three phases between September 1-September 12 in the Gaza Strip.
The second and final phase has been carried out successfully in southern and central Gaza, but ongoing mass displacement and Israeli bombings have delayed the process in the northern region.
This campaign marks the return of polio to Gaza after a 25-year absence.
UNICEF, which delivers over a billion doses of polio vaccines annually, called on governments and international partners to take urgent action to halt the spread of the disease.
The fight to eradicate polio continues to face challenges, particularly from vaccine-derived polioviruses. According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 74 outbreaks of circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPVs) were detected across 39 countries between January 2023 and June 2024. The persistence of these outbreaks underline the challenges of combating polio, even as global efforts intensify.
“The spread of polio not only puts children in affected countries at immediate risk but also poses a growing threat to neighbouring countries. The final push is the hardest, but now is the time to act. We cannot rest until every child, in every corner of the world, is safe from polio – once and for all,” Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director, was quoted in the report.