The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Thursday that Africa has recorded 134 new cases of polio across at least seven countries.
In a statement marking World Polio Day 2024, WHO’s regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, revealed that the circulating variant of polio type 2 has been identified in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria. As of September 5, 2024, there have been 134 confirmed cases of polio type 2 this year.
Moeti noted that there has been significant progress in polio eradication efforts in Southern Africa, with no reported cases of poliovirus in South Africa since 2022. She expressed hope for the elimination of the virus in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia.
The regional director praised the collaborative efforts among countries in the Lake Chad Basin and the Sahel region to address “a new and pressing challenge.” She called on nations to intensify their campaigns to eradicate polio from the continent.
