Brazzaville, 22 April 2016 – As the world gets closer to global polio eradication, all 47 countries in the African Region are joining the rest of the world to switch from trivalent Oral Polio Vaccine (tOPV) to bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine (bOPV) in routine immunization schedules.

Last year, the World Health Assembly (WHA) urged all countries currently using oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) to withdraw the type 2 component of oral poliovirus vaccine by replacing the trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (tOPV) with the bivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (bOPV). The Global Commission for Certification of Poliovirus Eradication also declared in September 2015 that wild poliovirus type 2 had been eradicated globally, further affirming the timeliness of the plan to make the switch.

In preparation for the switch which is taking place from 17 April to 1 May 2016, training and guidance have been provided to all countries in the African Region to effectively implement this change, including final disposal of remaining stocks of tOPV following the switch.

“I encourage countries in the Region to successfully implement this switch which is a significant milestone in regional and global polio eradication efforts,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, “WHO will continue to collaborate with immunization partners and stakeholders to provide the necessary support.”

The monitoring of the switch activities in the countries is being led by the respective national authorities and supported by WHO, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, immunization partners and donors.

The African Region has made significant progress towards polio eradication and there is no polio endemic country in the Region following the removal of Nigeria from the list of polio endemic countries in September 2015. 

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For more information, please contact:
Dr Richard Mihigo, Programme Area Coordinator, mihigor [at] who.int (mihigor[at]who[dot]int) , Tel: +47-241-39926
Loza Mesfin Tesfaye, Communications Officer, tesfayel [at] who.int (tesfayel[at]who[dot]int), Tel: +47-241-34721
C. Boakye-Agyemang, Regional Communications Adviser: boakyeagyemangc [at] who.int (boakyeagyemangc[at]who[dot]int), Tel +47-241-39420