The Minister of Health, Professor Mohamed Seddik Aït Messaoudène, alongside key officials from the National Body for the Protection and Promotion of Children, WHO, and UNICEF, officially launched the National Polio Vaccination Days on December 30, 2025. The initiative marks a significant step in combating the circulation of type 2 poliovirus (cVDPV2) in Algeria and aims to protect nearly 4.5 million children aged two to 59 months using the new type 2 oral polio vaccine (nOPV2).
Professor Aït Messaoudène emphasized that the campaign reflects Algeria’s ongoing commitment to child health and the prevention of vaccine-preventable diseases. WHO representative Dr. Phanuel Habimana highlighted the historic scale and ambition of the campaign, noting the extensive human, material, and financial resources mobilized. UNICEF representative Katarina Johansson underlined the strong political will behind the initiative to ensure children’s survival and well-being.
To support the campaign, Algerian health authorities have deployed more than 11 million doses of the new oral vaccine for the first two rounds, alongside strengthened capacities in planning, logistics, public awareness, and community mobilization. An additional 5 million doses of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) have been ordered for a third round in early 2026 to further bolster immunity.
Since the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988, cases of wild poliovirus have declined by 99% globally, with only Afghanistan and Pakistan remaining endemic. Although the WHO African Region was declared free of wild polioviruses in August 2020, Algeria has faced imported type 2 variants since 2022, triggering epidemic responses without affecting its “polio-free” status achieved in 2016.
Between 2022 and 2024, five vaccination campaigns were conducted in at-risk provinces to address this challenge. WHO and UNICEF continue to provide technical, logistical, and operational support, reinforcing Algeria’s efforts to ensure the campaign’s success. The initiative represents a vital contribution to the global goal of eradicating polio, with every vaccinated child bringing Algeria and the world closer to ending the disease.
