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Malawi News

Turning the Tide: How Malawi Stopped Mpox in Its Tracks

When Mpox first appeared in Malawi in April 2025, fear rippled through communities. The disease, known for its painful symptoms and potential complications, threatened to disrupt lives and strain an already burdened health system. By mid-year, cases were climbing, and the outbreak had spread to 12 districts, including Lilongwe, the country’s bustling capital.

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Malawi vaccinates 1.3 million children in response to polio outbreak

Blantyre—Around 1.3 million children in Malawi have been vaccinated against polio in a four-day campaign following the detection of a new circulating variant polio case in late January 2026. This variant polio case is the first reported in the country since 2022, when wild poliovirus — genetically linked to an outbreak in Pakistan — was confirmed in Malawi.

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From Mountains to Islands: Malawi’s Historic HPV Vaccination Campaign

Malawi faces one of the highest cervical cancer burdens globally, with over 4,700 new cases annually. Determined to change this, the Government of Malawi demonstrated unwavering leadership in launching the nationwide Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign from 27–31 October 2025, targeting girls aged 9–18 years. This bold initiative aligns with Malawi’s commitment to eliminate cervical cancer by 2030 under WHO’s global strategy.

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Success Story; Building a Stronger Immunization Workforce Across Malawi

In a significant initiative to enhance Malawi’s immunization system, the Ministry of Health, with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and GAVI, The Vaccine Alliance, successfully trained over 18,659 zonal personnel as of 30th November 2025. Of those trained, 9,208 were male (54%) and 9,451 were female (46%). Among the participants, 17,448 were Health Surveillance Assistants, 53 were clinicians, 205 were nurses, and 516 served as cluster or team supervisors.

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Malawi’s Measles-Rubella Campaign: A United Front Against Outbreak

In the wake of sporadic measles outbreaks that gripped Malawi from late 2024 into mid-2025, the country mounted a swift and coordinated response. Declared a Grade 2 public health event in November 2024, the outbreak spread across ten districts, with six districts remaining actively affected by April 2025. 

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Strengthening Immunity, One Dose at a Time: Malawi’s IPV2 Success Story

In the heart of Southern Africa, Malawi has taken a bold step in the fight against polio. After reporting its first case of Wild Poliovirus Type 1 (WPV1) after 30 years in 2022, the country responded with urgency and resolve. By May 2024, thanks to multiple vaccination campaigns, vigilant surveillance and strengthened immunization systems, Malawi was declared polio-free once again. But the journey didn’t end there.

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