Polio transmission still active in Nigeria, says NPHCDA

Polio transmission is still occurring in Nigeria, according to the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), which also stated that all essential steps were required to halt the disease's spread.

This occurred as there have been 17 cases of circulating poliovirus type 2, or cVPV2, reported this year.

The figure was as of April 10, 2025, according to Dr. Muyi Aina, Executive Director of NPHCDA, who made this announcement during the agency's first quarter news conference in Abuja.

He clarified that the instances were spread among eight states and 15 local government districts.

"Let me take this chance to inform everyone in Nigeria that we have not been affected by WPV. But since 2021, we have had to deal with the threat of cVPV2, a different virus strain that has changed over time and begun to spread.

We have documented 17 CVPV2 instances in 15 LGAs across 8 states as of April 10, 2025. Five of the 17 cases were discovered in environmental sites (ES), and 12 of the cases are cases of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP). This indicates that the infection is still spreading throughout the nation, and we must put an end to it.

As a result, he stated, "we have initiated a strategy change in key elements of the polio campaign, such as vaccination team selection, demand development, oversight, and accountability."

According to him, the agency's new polio campaign will start this Saturday, April 26, in batches with the northern states. The southern states will follow suit on May 3.

“The northern states will synchronise with our neighbouring countries in the Lake Basin.
“Our Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Ali Pate, joined his colleagues from the Lake Chad Basin countries (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, and Niger) last week in N’Djamena, Chad, to launch the synchronised polio vaccination campaign.

“The goal is to reach about 83 million children across these Lake Chad Basin countries,” he added

Remember how Nigeria was proclaimed WPV-free in 2020 after the wild polio virus (WPV) was successfully eradicated there?