As the World Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) strikes nearer to reaching the global scheme of wild poliovirus (WPV) eradication, declaring sensitive surveillance systems becomes increasingly extra crucial. These systems are critical for confirming the absence of poliovirus circulation, in particular in the World Well being Organization (WHO) African Disclose, the build polio free countries need sustained excessive-quality surveillance to make certain they continue to be freed from WPV and loads of poliovirus variants. Currently, poliovirus surveillance capable of detecting wild poliovirus (WPV), vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV), and Sabin-adore viruses, relies on Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) surveillance and environmental surveillance.
Namibia became as soon as certified polio free in October 2008 and has since maintained its status through routine immunization, nationwide vaccination efforts, and AFP surveillance below the Integrated Illness Surveillance and Response (IDSR) framework. To beef up surveillance sensitivity, WHO supported the Ministry of Well being and Social Companies and products (MoHSS), in collaboration with local City Councils, to construct environmental surveillance in border regions. Despite these efforts, the nation stays at excessive risk for vaccine-derived polioviruses attributable to low AFP case detection in bordering districts, a key indicator of surveillance machine sensitivity. Neighboring countries Angola and Zambia discover reported confirmed circumstances of Vaccine Derived Poliovirus form 2 (VDPV2), with Angola recording a case as fair recently as 2025.
To uphold surveillance standards, WHO Namibia supplied technical enhance to the MoHSS to habits built-in supportive supervision and filled with life case searches for AFP and loads of vaccine preventable ailments (VPDs) in the Kavango East build, which borders Angola. This initiative included visits to health facilities in Rundu and Nyangana Districts to actively overview affected person registers for omitted circumstances, mentor healthcare employees, and habits clinician sensitization conferences. These efforts scheme to give a boost to AFP case detection and reporting, a critical measure for identifying poliovirus circulation and ensuring no doable outbreaks lunge undetected. Moreover, the environmental surveillance space at the Ndama sewage pond in Rundu District is performing effectively, reaching a 71.43% enterovirus detection rate, extra supporting the nation’s polio surveillance efforts.
