The Federal Ministry of Health of Sudan, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, United Nations Children’s Fund, and other partners, has launched a nationwide polio vaccination campaign. The initiative aims to provide novel oral polio vaccine type 2 to around 11 million children in October and November 2026. This effort seeks to interrupt the transmission of variant poliovirus, which began circulating in December 2024.
The campaign is crucial due to the ongoing conflict in Sudan, which began in 2023 and has disrupted the health system, limiting access to health services for many children. In 2026, Sudan has confirmed poliovirus in six children and in three wastewater samples. The vaccination campaign will be conducted in two phases, with the first phase targeting 6 million children in 107 localities across 12 states from 26 to 29 October.
Sudan’s Federal Minister of Health, Dr Heitham Mohammed Ibrahim, emphasized the importance of the mass vaccination campaign in boosting every child’s immunity against poliovirus. He commended the dedication of health workers and called on the community to get their children vaccinated. The World Health Organization and UNICEF will support the Ministry of Health in implementing the campaign, contributing to efforts to reach children across the country.
The ongoing conflict in Sudan has disrupted public health services, including routine immunization, leaving children increasingly vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases. To prevent further spread, it is critical that vaccination campaigns reach children who may have missed routine doses. UNICEF Acting Representative in Sudan, Angela Kearney, stressed that no child in Sudan should suffer from a disease that can be prevented through vaccination.
The vaccination efforts are being coordinated with neighbouring countries to stop the international spread of poliovirus. Chad, Ethiopia, and South Sudan are also implementing polio vaccination campaigns in October and November, which will help reach populations moving across the borders between the four countries. Transit point vaccinators stationed along Sudan’s borders will also vaccinate children from mobile populations.
The campaign will target 11 million children, with 4 million children aged 0-59 months and 6 million children aged 0 months to under 10 years. The vaccination will be conducted in 186 localities in 18 states, with a second round nationwide vaccination campaign planned a month after the first round. In localities bordering South Sudan, vaccinators will provide both nOPV2 and bivalent oral polio vaccine to protect children from the risk of importation of the ongoing type 1 variant poliovirus outbreak in South Sudan.
WHO Representative in Sudan, Dr Abdinasir Abubakar, highlighted the urgency of protecting children from polio, given the disruption of essential health services due to conflict. The organization remains committed to working with health authorities and supporting Sudan’s health workers and communities to reach every child, including those in hard-to-reach areas, and interrupt the spread of the virus.
Key points
- The campaign aims to interrupt the transmission of variant poliovirus, which began circulating in December 2024.
- The vaccination campaign will target 11 million children in Sudan, with 6 million children aged 0 months to under 10 years.
- The effort is being coordinated with neighbouring countries, including Chad, Ethiopia, and South Sudan, to stop the international spread of poliovirus.
