After Africa achieved wild poliovirus-free status in 2020, the region faced a setback with outbreaks recurring in Mozambique and Malawi in 2022. However, a swift global response by countries and health organisations, including large-scale vaccination campaigns reaching 50 million children across five nations, culminated in a recommendation this month by the independent Poliovirus Outbreak Response Assessment (OBRA) to declare the end of the wild poliovirus type 1 outbreaks in Southern Africa. In this episode of Africa Science Focus, reporter Justice Baidoo speaks to public health experts to uncover the strategies Southern African countries adopted to fight the disease. Africa Science Focus is produced by SciDev.Net and distributed in association with your local radio station. This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s Sub-Saharan Africa English desk. Do you have any comments, questions or feedback about our podcast episodes? Let us know at
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