As Malawi celebrates its first anniversary after officially closing its reimported wild poliovirus (WPV1) outbreak, the nation is taking strategic steps to retain laborious-acquired beneficial properties and strengthen its broader health draw. On 24 April 2025, health leaders, partners, and stakeholders gathered for the National Polio Transition Planning assembly, a really noteworthy milestone in guaranteeing that the infrastructure constructed to eradicate polio continues to attend Malawi’s communities for future years assist.
From Polio Response to Long-Length of time Resilience
Polio resources – from professional personnel to illness surveillance programs-contain played a key characteristic in emergency health responses at some stage in Malawi. The transition planning course of goals to provide protection to these sources and have obvious their integration into the national health draw. According to the Polio Transition Strategic Framework, Malawi’s conception supports national possession of predominant polio functions, including surveillance, immunization, and outbreak response.
“Transitioning from GPEI toughen capacity we must strengthen our skill to administer core functions nationally. Right here could be very crucial to withhold Malawi polio-free and fortify our capability to detect and answer to other vaccine-preventable diseases,” talked about Dr. Patrick Wataya Chirwa, Chair of the National Certification Committee.
In Would possibly perchance well well 2020, Malawi (alongside the rest of the African Place) became as soon as certified free of indigenous wild poliovirus. Nonetheless, the detection of a reimported case from Southern Asia in 2022 served as a noteworthy reminder that polio stays a world likelihood. Malawi’s health authorities answered like a flash and decisively, efficiently interrupting transmission by Would possibly perchance well well 2024.
By January 2025, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) had labeled the nation as low-likelihood on its global polio watchlist—a testament to Malawi’s solid response and surveillance programs.
Nonetheless, placing forward that residence capacity planning for the future. As external polio funding declines, Malawi must stop gaps in workforce and financing. The Polio Transition Realizing will merit stable serious capacities and align them with the Ministry of Health-led Immunization Programme, reinforcing the nation’s skill to forestall and answer to outbreaks.
Sarah Wanyoike, from WHO AFRO’s Eastern and Southern Africa inter-nation toughen team, highlighted how classes from Malawi’s most modern outbreak response can form a stronger, more resilient health draw. “We must mix provider transport and strengthen surveillance at some stage in the board—no longer simply for polio, however for all vaccine-preventable diseases,” she talked about.
The conception focuses on optimizing present programs, integrating surveillance efforts, and building multisectoral collaboration, linking immunization, emergency preparedness, One Health approaches, and neighborhood engagement.
At the assembly, Dr. Neema Kimambo, WHO E-book to Malawi, emphasised that the transition is never any longer fully a health sector responsibility. It requires spoiled-lowering collaboration among authorities businesses, local health authorities, partners, and civil society.
“Malawi’s success relies upon on solid coordination between the Ministry of Health, EPI, the Public Health Institute of Malawi, district councils, health partners, NGOs, and communities themselves,” Dr. Kimambo neatly-known.
These efforts goal to be certain that the programs and information constructed by blueprint of the polio programme proceed to income Malawians, supporting everything from emergency response to routine immunization and illness surveillance.
Malawi’s National Polio Transition Realizing is a blueprint no longer excellent for sustaining polio eradication efforts however also for advancing standard health coverage and fairness. As the nation strikes from emergency response to long-length of time resilience, WHO and partners remain committed to supporting a soft and sustainable transition—helping Malawi uncover polio-free and more healthy for generations to come assist.
