About this Episode
There is some genuinely encouraging news in the fight against one of the world’s most devastating diseases. Five African countries — Burundi, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, the Republic of Congo and Uganda — have officially stopped outbreaks of poliovirus type 2. Following technical assessments carried out between January and June 2026, the WHO confirmed that transmission had been interrupted in all five countries.
It’s an important achievement because polio can cause lifelong paralysis, and stopping an outbreak requires much more than simply vaccinating people once. The five countries strengthened vaccination campaigns, disease surveillance, laboratory capacity and cooperation with local communities. In Guinea-Bissau, for example, there have been no reported poliovirus detections since July 2021.
The progress also shows how improvements in technology and organisation can make a difference. African countries are increasingly using environmental surveillance, upgraded laboratories and geographic information systems to identify places where children may have been missed by vaccination campaigns. Mapping population movements can help health workers reach communities in remote or difficult-to-access areas.
And the benefits go beyond polio. Stronger laboratories, better disease monitoring and greater trust in vaccination systems also improve countries’ ability to respond to other infectious diseases.
There is still work to do. The virus can be reintroduced from elsewhere, meaning vaccination and surveillance cannot simply stop when an outbreak is declared over. But five countries have demonstrated something important: with sustained effort, cooperation and effective vaccination, polio can be stopped.
Every outbreak closed means thousands more children protected from a disease that should one day exist only in history books.
