Multiple regions in Niger are currently impacted by both COVID-19 and a vaccine-derived polio outbreak. While the viruses spread differently—COVID-19 through respiratory droplets and polio through contaminated water or food—both infections share overlapping symptoms like fever, headaches, and coughing.

“Niger successfully halted previous polio outbreaks in 2019 through high-quality mass vaccination campaigns,” explains Dr. Pascal Mkanda, Polio Eradication Programme Coordinator for the African Region. “However, these efforts have been paused due to COVID-19 restrictions, including social distancing and hand hygiene protocols that complicate large-scale immunisation drives.”

In December, Niger, along with Kenya and Mozambique, declared the end of 24-month-long polio outbreaks. Yet, this new vaccine-derived poliovirus transmission—paralyzing two children in Niamey and Tillaberi—is unrelated to last year’s epidemic.

“The polio virus will keep circulating”

“The poliovirus will inevitably continue to spread, potentially paralyzing more children, as timely high-quality vaccination campaigns remain impossible under current restrictions,” warns Dr. Mkanda.

With Niger now joining 14 other African nations battling vaccine-derived polio outbreaks, health officials highlight key challenges: low routine immunisation coverage, vaccine hesitancy, inaccessible regions, and suboptimal campaign quality. Affected countries include Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Togo, and Zambia.

While mass vaccination drives in Africa have been postponed indefinitely, the African Regional Polio Eradication Programme is maintaining critical disease surveillance. Though no cure exists for polio, the disease is preventable through vaccination. Efforts are underway across Niger and other African nations to rapidly boost children’s immunity and protect them from polio-induced paralysis.