At a critical moment for polio eradication, the football stars joined youth advocates, health workers and public health champions in the #KickOutPolio campaign around WAFCON, calling for sustained commitment and action from leaders and people across the continent to end polio and protect every child from other deadly but vaccine-preventable diseases.
Running from 22 July to 16 August 2026, the campaign celebrated the power of African women, from football and sport to the frontlines of public health, while honouring the women health workers and community mobilizers at the heart of vaccination campaigns and disease surveillance across Africa.
The ten footballers: Érika Gnounoué, Inès Konan, Mariam Diakité, Rebecca Elloh and Mariam Diawara from Côte d’Ivoire; Gabrielle Aboudi Onguené, Ange Gabrielle Bawou and Doudou Ousmanou from Cameroon; and Chiamaka Nnadozie and Francisca Ordega from Nigeria, starred in the campaign’s hero video, which received 4.3 million views across Facebook and Instagram.
Across the campaign, some 180 multimedia pieces of content generated a potential reach of 50.2 million and nearly 45,000 engagements. The campaign also recognized the longstanding support of donors to polio eradication efforts across Africa, including Canada, the European Union, Germany, Japan, KSrelief, the Republic of Korea and the United Arab Emirates.
No one wins alone
“Polio is not just a health issue. It is a child’s issue. It is a family’s issue. It is a community’s issue,” said Ramou Ndure, UNICEF Deputy Regional Director for West and Central Africa, during the campaign launch.
Dr. Olayinka “Yinka” Babalola, President of Rotary International, drew a direct link with football. “Football teaches us something simple: no one wins alone.” Rotary, he added, has supported the global effort to eradicate polio for nearly four decades and “will stay until the final whistle.”
Africa has already made historic progress. The WHO African Region was certified free of indigenous wild poliovirus in 2020. But variant poliovirus continues to paralyse children where immunity gaps persist.
“The science is clear. The tools are available. The finish line is in sight. Now we must match that science with determination,” said Dr. Marie Belizaire, Regional Emergency Director for the WHO African Region. “Finishing polio is not simply about ending one disease. It is an investment in the health, potential and future of an entire generation.”
Every great movement needs a soundtrack
Burkinabè hip-hop artist and UNICEF National Ambassador Smarty recognized the women working every day to protect children. Paying tribute to women health workers carrying vaccines and trusted health information into communities across Africa, he said: “These women are the true champions.”
Nigerian paediatrician and content creator Dr. Ayodele Renner, known online as “The Noisy Paediatrician,” brought #KickOutPolio to his large digital audience. “People do not only need health information. They need someone they trust to explain it. Health professionals and content creators must use social media to make reliable information clear, engaging and easy to understand.”
Young people call on African leaders to “wear the captain’s armband”
Youth advocates from Generation Zero Polio and the Global Youth Health Advisory Group issued an Open Letter to African leaders, calling on leaders across the continent to take responsibility for finishing the job: “Every team needs a captain. In the final push against polio, each country’s leader must wear the captain’s armband and lead Team End Polio until every child is protected.”
Noella Djouku Nguetchuissi, a Youth Health Advocate from Cameroon, believes that leadership also begins with recognizing the influence young people already have.
“What if one post, one conversation, or one minute of your time could help protect a child’s future? “People often say that young people are Africa’s future. I believe that. But if we want a healthier Africa tomorrow, we must help shape it today,” she said.
“Polio tried to destroy me. It tried to limit my dreams and my future,” said Oeurdice Mukeba, a young polio survivor working for UNICEF in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “I don’t want another child’s future to be changed by a disease that can be prevented.
Beyond just a one-off campaign
WAFCON may be over, but the #KickOutPolio campaign will end only when we end polio for good. In 2027, the #KickOut Polio campaign will turn to football’s biggest stage, the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil, connecting the energy of women’s football with the drive to protect every child.
Because governments cannot finish polio alone. Health workers cannot finish it alone. Footballers cannot finish it alone.
Together, we will end polio!
