As millions of fans gear up for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025, six prominent African footballers have launched the “Kick Out Polio” campaign, urging the continent to unite against the disease. Partnering with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, the campaign calls on families, government officials, youth, and community leaders to intensify efforts to vaccinate every child against polio.
Polio, a highly infectious disease that once paralyzed over 1,000 children daily, has been nearly eradicated thanks to decades of global collaboration, saving an estimated 20 million children from paralysis and 1.5 million lives. While Africa has made significant progress, outbreaks persist in several countries, leaving children vulnerable and highlighting the urgent need for continued vaccination campaigns.
The campaign features football stars Sébastien Haller (Côte d’Ivoire), Naby Keïta (Guinea), Fabrice Ondoa (Cameroon), Rodolfo Bodipo Díaz (Equatorial Guinea), Michael Essien (Ghana), and Bruno Ecuele Manga (Gabon). They are sharing personal stories of perseverance and promoting a football challenge on social media to inspire parents and leaders to overcome obstacles, emphasizing that even the toughest challenges, like eradicating polio, can be defeated.
Progress in Africa is currently threatened by funding cuts, conflict, vaccine hesitancy, and strained health systems, making the final stage of eradication the most challenging. Despite these obstacles, coordinated campaigns from January to October 2025 reached nearly 200 million children across 15 countries. Regional collaboration, spanning the Horn of Africa, the Lake Chad Basin, and the Sahel, has demonstrated the effectiveness of cross-border vaccination efforts in protecting millions of children.
Through the “Kick Out Polio” campaign, the footballers are calling on everyone in Africa to support vaccination initiatives until the virus is eradicated. Michael Essien highlights that just as he overcame challenges in his football career, Africa can overcome polio with persistence. Naby Keïta emphasizes the importance of vaccination for saving lives, while Bruno Ecuele Manga urges African leaders to unite for the youth, the continent’s future. Fabrice Ondoa, Rodolfo Bodipo Díaz, and Sébastien Haller similarly stress the critical need for collective action to achieve a polio-free Africa and safeguard children’s health.
