Angola is implementing a new national action plan to strengthen its immunization program and accelerate the eradication of polio, following an evaluation of vaccination efforts conducted in the first half of 2026. The strategy focuses on translating evidence from recent campaigns into concrete actions to reach “zero-dose” children—those who have not yet received any vaccine doses—and to protect the most remote and hard-to-reach areas, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Evaluation of Vaccination Campaigns
The initiative follows a National Post-Campaign Evaluation Workshop organized by the Ministry of Health through the National Immunization Program, with support from the WHO and other partners. This evaluation analyzed the performance of two national vaccination campaigns and two additional campaigns coordinated in border areas with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Namibia. These combined efforts resulted in the vaccination of more than nine million children under the age of five.
The workshop aimed to identify operational challenges and best practices to improve routine immunization services. The resulting national action plan will define implementation deadlines, monitoring mechanisms, and specific responsibilities to ensure improvements in epidemiological surveillance and campaign quality.
Strategic Priorities for Eradication
Dr. Nirakar Panda, the program coordinator for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) in Angola, stated that the success of eradication depends on the ability to turn knowledge into action. To maximize coverage, Dr. Panda advocated for several key operational improvements:
- Promoting the local recruitment of vaccination teams.
- Enhancing micro-planning using harmonized and up-to-date population data.
- Improving the timing and quality of vaccination campaigns.
- Strengthening cross-border coordination with neighboring nations.
- Improving data verification mechanisms and surveillance systems.
Officials also highlighted the necessity of strengthening environmental surveillance and the monitoring of Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP), as these systems are critical for the early detection of any circulating poliovirus.
Global and Regional Context
Angola’s efforts occur as the world continues to struggle with the final stages of polio eradication. The WHO Director-General convened the 44th meeting of the Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations on January 14, 2026, to review data on circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV) and wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1). The committee noted that technical updates were received regarding the situation in several countries, including Angola, Namibia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Globally, targets to stop transmission have been repeatedly missed, with deadlines passing in 2019, 2023, and 2025. While the GPEI aims to interrupt endemic WPV1 transmission in 2026 and stop cVDPV2 outbreaks by 2028, the virus remains active in endemic countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan. In those regions, transmission often persists in areas with low immunization coverage.
Operational Challenges and Tools
The primary tool for eradication is the oral polio vaccine (OPV), a liquid containing live, attenuated poliovirus that blocks the virus from replicating in the gut. While the vaccine has prevented between 2.5 million and 6 million cases of paralysis, experts suggest that the remaining barriers to total eradication are largely operational rather than scientific. In the past, Angola has struggled with poorly run vaccination campaigns
that missed significant portions of children in critical transmission areas such as Luanda.
Current efforts in Angola aim to ensure that no child is left unvaccinated, protecting previous gains and expanding coverage to secure a polio-free future for the country’s children.
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