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Polio this week

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative extends its warmest wishes for a peaceful and blessed Eid to all those celebrating around the world.

Headlines

Braving conflict to protect children from polio in Gaza Strip – Women at the frontline of the response

Click here for a story featuring some of the women in Gaza Strip who are a force at the frontline of the fight against polio—reaching families and vaccinating hundreds of thousands of children despite conflict, challenges and personal losses.

Dr Balkhy: “Women power the fight to end polio!”

In her post following her participation at last week’s GPEI gender webinar, WHO Regional Director Dr Hanan Balkhy paid tribute to the critical role woman play in polio eradication.  “As a Gender Champion for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, I can only underscore how women power the fight to end polio – from labs to the frontlines of vaccination.”

Dr Balkhy welcomes Dr Jamal Ahmed

In this post, WHO Regional Director Dr Hanan Balkhy welcomed Dr Jamal Ahmed to his new role as Director for Polio Eradication and Vaccine-Preventable Diseases for the Eastern Mediterranean.  With nearly two decades of experience advancing polio eradication and strengthening disease surveillance across the Middle East and Africa, including most recently as global polio eradication director at WHO in Geneva, his leadership comes at a critical moment for EMRO as the region pushes through the last mile to end polio and accelerate efforts to protect communities from vaccine-preventable diseases.  Jamal: we will miss you here in Geneva, but we understand that you are more urgently needed now in EMRO at this critical time. We wish you all the success, and stand ready to support you in any way we can!

Podcast on polio eradication

Click ‘here’ to listen to a very interesting and informative podcast by the global reputable health podcast producer ‘The Naked Scientists’ on polio eradication, featuring inputs by Kath O’Reilly, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; Dr Zubair Wadood, WHO; and, Ananda Bandyopadhyay, Gates Foundation.

SAGE reviews path to the endgame — from vaccine strategy to post-eradication planning

Last week, at the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on immunization (SAGE) meeting in Geneva, the group took stock of progress toward eradication and examined the critical decisions shaping the polio endgame. Informed by key analysis of the SAGE Polio Working Group from February, discussions covered programme performance and governance, planning for eventual bivalent OPV cessation, advances in novel OPV and next-generation IPV manufacturing, and how evolving vaccine strategies can best protect children while safeguarding a polio-free future. The group also began formulating recommendations on the optimal role of IPV and bOPV in routine immunization as the world prepares for the final phase of eradication.  More.

Summary of new polioviruses this week: 

  • Afghanistan:  one WPV1 case and 20 WPV1-positive environmental samples
  • Pakistan:  seven WPV1-positive environmental samples
  • Angola:  one cVDPV2 case
  • Chad:  one cVDPV2-positive environmental sample
  • Nigeria:  two cVDPV2 cases
  • Somalia:  one cVDPV2 case and one cVDPV2-positive environmental sample
Country updates as of 18 March 2026

More information on the countries that have reported cases and/or environmental samples this week.

  • One WPV1 case was reported this week, from Paktika, with onset of paralysis on 13 November 2025. The number of cases in 2025 is 21 (most recent case: 21 November 2025).
  • 20 WPV1-positive environmental samples were reported this week, 15 from Kandahar, three from Hilmand and one each from Zabul and Hirat (most recent positive environmental sample: 24 January 2026).

  • No WPV1 case was reported this week.  The total number of cases in 2025 is 31.  The total number of cases in 2026 is one (onset of paralysis:  10 February 2026).
  • Seven WPV1-positive environmental samples were reported this week, collected in February 2026, six from Sindh and one from Balochistan (most recent positive environmental sample:  12 February 2026).

  • One cVDPV2 case was reported this week, from Huila, with onset of paralysis on 20 January 2026.  It is the first case reported in 2026. There have been 19 cases reported in 2025.
  • No cVDPV2-positive environmental sample was reported this week (most recent positive environmental sample:  26 June 2025).

  • No cVDPV2 case was reported this week.  The number of cVDPV2 cases in 2025 is 31 (most recent case:  7 December 2025).
  • One cVDPV2-positive environmental sample was reported this week, from N’Djamena, collected on 4 February 2026 (the most recent positive environmental sample).
  • No cVDPV3 case was reported this week. The number of cVDPV3 cases for 2025 is four (most recent case:  18 October 2025).

  • Two cVDPV2 cases were reported this week, from Kebbi and Zamfara, with onsets of paralysis on 5 February 2026 and 15 February 2026, respectively.  The total number of cVDPV2 cases reported in 2025 is 66.  The total number of cVDPV2 cases reported in 2026 is nine (most recent case:  15 February 2026).
  • No cVDPV2-positive environmental samples were reported this week (most recent positive environmental sample:  27 January 2026).
  • No cVDPV3 cases were reported this week.  The total number of cVDPV3 cases reported in 2025 is six and two in 2026 (most recent case:  2 February 2026).

  • One cVDPV2 case was reported this week, from Lower Juba, with onset of paralysis on 3 February 2026.  There are two cases reported in 2026 (most recent case:  3 February 2026).  There have been two cases reported in 2025.
  • One cVDPV2-positive environmental sample was reported this week, from Lower Juba, collected on 7 February 2026 (most recent positive environmental sample).