Project profile — Support to the Polio Eradication Endgame Strategic Plan with WHO 2020-2023

This project with the World Health Organization (WHO) supports the implementation of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI)’s Endgame Strategic Plan, which provides a global roadmap to eradicate polio. Project activities include: (1) working with targeted governments to strengthen oral polio vaccine campaign safety and quality and introduce inactivated polio vaccine into routine immunization systems; (2) providing technical assistance to front-line workers to increase immunization coverage; and (3) working with governments to transition polio assets and infrastructure to broader health goals and national health systems. The GPEI is a partnership between UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Rotary International and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The expected outcomes of this project include: (1) improved health, particularly of vulnerable populations, in polio endemic, outbreak and high-risk countries; (2) increase interruption of wild polio virus and stop all vaccine derived poliovirus outbreaks; (3) improve polio integration through health system strengthening, vaccine-preventable disease and communicable disease surveillance, and outbreak and emergency preparedness; and (4) contain polioviruses and certify interruption of transmission.

Results achieved as of March 2024 include: (1) supported approximately 120 polio immunization campaigns in 30 countries between 2023 to 2024; (2) implemented community engagement and communication strategies that supported the vaccination of 11.9 million children, reaching over 25 million people through social media channels to increase awareness and support for vaccination campaigns; and (3) contributed to deploy over 9,000 social mobilizers essential for community engagement and mobilization in hard-to-reach and high-risk areas. In Afghanistan, this initiative provided other critical health services, such as distributing 2.2 million bars of soap to promote hygiene practices and prevent the spread of other diseases.