A nationwide vaccination drive backed by WHO and UNICEF began on 26 October to stop a variant poliovirus spreading. A second phase in early November will cover the five Darfur states and West Kordofan.
A nationwide polio vaccination campaign aimed at 11 million children began in Sudan on 26 October. It is intended to halt a variant poliovirus that has circulated since December 2024, Sudan Tribune reported, citing the health ministry, the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF.
Health authorities have confirmed poliovirus infections in six children in 2026 and detected the virus in three wastewater samples. The campaign uses the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2).
Two phases
The first phase, from 26 to 29 October, aimed to reach 6 million children under five in 12 states. A second phase in early November will target 5 million children in the five Darfur states and West Kordofan. In Darfur the target age is being raised to children under ten because immunity there is lower. A second nationwide round is planned for late November, Sudan Tribune reported. UNICEF has published details of the campaign.
Much of Darfur and West Kordofan is administered by the Tasis-led Government of Peace and Unity. The success of the second phase will therefore depend on safe, unhindered access for vaccinators across front lines. Earlier this month, Government of Peace and Unity Prime Minister Mohamed Hassan al-Taishi said schools in Nyala, El Geneina, Zalingei, El Daein and El Fula were ready to reopen, Radio Tamazuj reported.
Cross-border coordination
The campaign is being coordinated with Chad, Ethiopia and South Sudan. In localities on the South Sudan border, health workers will give both nOPV2 and the bivalent oral vaccine, to guard against a separate type 1 variant outbreak across the border. Vaccinators will also be posted at border transit points to reach mobile and displaced families.
"In a country where conflict has disrupted essential health services and left many children without routine vaccinations, protecting children from polio is more urgent than ever," said Dr Abdinasir Abubakar, WHO Representative in Sudan.
Context
More than 13 million people have been displaced since April 2023, and routine immunisation has collapsed in many areas. The polio drive is part of a $2.9 billion humanitarian response plan for 2026. Whether vaccinators can work safely in Darfur and Kordofan will be an important test of humanitarian access in the coming weeks.
Photo: Ikhlas, a polio survivor and community health volunteer in El Fasher, North Darfur. USAID Africa Bureau, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.