From helicopter-supported vaccination teams navigating the rugged mountains of Kunene to retired nurses returning to service to protect children, Namibia’s third round of the national polio outbreak response campaign demonstrated the extraordinary national effort underway to stop the circulation of poliovirus and protect every child.
Conducted from 27–30 April 2026, Namibia’s Round 3 vaccination campaign reached 836,245 children aged 10 years and below, achieving 90.4% administrative coverage against a target population of 924,888 children, with an additional 9,690 children vaccinated during mop-up activities. Independent assessments showed continued improvement in campaign quality, with 75% of districts passing Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS), up from 69% in Round 2 and 42% in Round 1.
For Namibia’s Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) Coordinator, Dr Loveday Nkwogu, these gains demonstrate that the country’s response strategy is working.
“The steady improvement in campaign quality is very encouraging,” said Dr Nkwogu. “In Round 1, only 42% of districts passed the quality assurance assessment, which was understandable given that Namibia had not mounted an outbreak response in almost 20 years. By Round 2, this improved to 69%, and by Round 3, 75% of districts passed. This clearly shows that we are progressively closing the population immunity gap.”
He noted that the country has already made significant progress in containing the virus geographically.
“We have successfully contained the virus in Rundu, where only the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) has been isolated since December. This means the current geographical scope is now limited to Windhoek and Gobabis. The environmental surveillance findings, together with our vaccination data, indicate that the interventions are having the desired effect.”
Ahead of the campaign, the Ministry of Health and Social Services announced the third round as a critical measure to close remaining immunity gaps and prevent possible transmission.
“We are taking this step to ensure there is absolutely no room for the virus to spread,” said Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Esperance Luvindao. “Although we achieved high coverage in previous rounds, even small gaps in immunity can allow the virus to persist.”
The Minister stressed that, while Namibia has recorded no cases of polio paralysis since the 2025 environmental detections, the continued environmental isolation of poliovirus requires urgent action under the Global Polio Eradication Initiative outbreak response framework.
“Early detection through surveillance gives us the opportunity to act before any child is affected and to maintain Namibia’s polio-free status, which the country has held since 2008.”
Reaching the unreached in Opuwo
Yet beyond the national numbers, some of the campaign’s most remarkable efforts unfolded in Namibia’s far north-west, in the Opuwo health district of Kunene Region, where difficult terrain, long travel distances, sparse settlements and mobile communities continue to make routine health outreach a formidable challenge.
To reach children living in mountainous, hard-to-reach communities, vaccination teams were supported by a police helicopter, which helped vaccinate 497 children who might otherwise have been missed.
Roadblock vaccination points were also established to reach children travelling during the school holiday period, while social mobilization teams worked through local radio, community announcements and direct engagement with families.
Dr Nkwogu said the third round introduced important innovations that helped improve reach and reduce missed opportunities.
“One of the most impactful innovations in Round 3 was the institutionalization of roadblock vaccination in collaboration with the Namibian Police at major checkpoints. This allowed us to vaccinate children in transit who would likely have been missed during routine house-to-house activities.”
The campaign also leveraged other strategic opportunities to reach children before the school holiday began.
“We vaccinated children attending the Crayfish Festival in Lüderitz, and in flood-prone areas such as Zambezi, teams were deployed early to vaccinate communities before flash floods made them inaccessible. Similar early interventions were undertaken ahead of the holiday period to ensure children travelling were protected.
The Opuwo Health District demonstrated promising progress in campaign performance. Initially, in the first round, the LQAS assessment identified 18 missed children, categorizing it as poor-performing. By the second round, missed children decreased to 10, and by the third round, to 8, clearly indicating improved efforts in reaching children who had been previously missed.
Behind those gains were the efforts of frontline workers like Sr Mbaumba, a retired nurse whose story reflects the dedication that powered the campaign.
After nearly three decades of service in the Ministry of Health and Social Services in Kunene, Sr Mbaumba returned to volunteer during the COVID-19 response and again stepped forward for the national polio campaign.
“I am proud to have become what I always wanted to be, a nurse,” she said. “Protecting Namibia from polio, to me, means protecting children from permanent disability. If we can prevent it, why not?”
During Round 3, she supervised seven vaccination teams in Opuwo, four outreach teams and three facility-based teams. Even in retirement, her bond with the community remained strong.
“The community still trusts us,” she reflected. “They know you as a nurse, not only in the clinic but in the community too.”
That trust mattered.
In communities where misinformation and vaccine fatigue have challenged uptake, familiar and respected local voices helped reassure families about repeated vaccination rounds.
Dr Nkwogu affirmed that misinformation persists. “Yes, we still face misinformation, particularly on social media,” said Dr Nkwogu. “But we continue to actively debunk misinformation and work closely with some media houses to ensure the public receives accurate, timely and evidence-based information.”
Nationally, campaign awareness among caregivers reached 98.6%, reflecting the strength of social mobilisation and public communication efforts.
A regional threat requiring regional solidarity
Namibia’s response is taking place within a broader regional context, as neighbouring countries continue to respond to poliovirus threats. Population movement across borders remains constant for trade, education, family connections and migration, making regional coordination essential.
At the time of the campaign announcement, Malawi had reported a paralytic case; Angola had reported an acute flaccid paralysis case under investigation; and Botswana was implementing synchronized vaccination activities alongside neighbouring countries. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has also remained a priority country in the African region’s ongoing polio response.
“Viruses do not respect borders,” the Ministry has emphasized, underscoring the importance of coordinated preventive action across the sub-region.
Progress, but the work continues
For Dr Nkwogu, the latest results provide cautious optimism.
“Generally, I believe we are on the path to success. The latest results are encouraging and show that the vaccination activities we are conducting are working.” He confirmed that the next phase of the response will be more targeted.
“We are planning another focused round in Windhoek and Gobabis, where environmental surveillance continues to indicate risk, while intensifying surveillance across the rest of the country.”
For Namibia, the message is clear: progress is being made, but eradication depends on reaching every last child.
From urban centres to the mountains of Kunene, the campaign has shown what is possible when health workers, communities, traditional leaders, volunteers and retired professionals rally behind a common cause.
For Sr Mbaumba, the mission remains deeply personal. “Nursing is still with me,” she said. “Even when retired, caring for others stays with you.”
