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The Ministry of Health announced the launch, in November, of a national vaccination campaign against poliomyelitis, covering all the wilayas of the country through 274 local public health establishments. The objective is to protect children against the risk of re-emergence of the mutant virus detected in recent years.
According to Dr. Ishak El-Khalef, representative of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, this operation aims to vaccinate more than 4 million children aged 2 to 59 months. It will take place in several stages between November and December 2025 and January 2026, with the participation of medical teams distributed throughout the national territory.
The official recalled, during a training day organized last Wednesday by the Ministry of Health, in Algiers, that Algeria has been officially polio-free since 2016, a recognition awarded by the Regional Committee for the certification of polio eradication in Africa during its meeting in Accra.
If the last case of wild poliovirus type 1 dates back to 1996, Dr El-Khalef indicated that in 2022, a mutant type 2 virus (VDPV2) had been imported into the wilaya of Tamanrasset, before being contained thanks to rapid intervention. However, other isolated cases have been reported in certain regions. This situation, according to specialists, is a reminder that the virus can resurface when vaccination coverage is not complete.
Nassira Saï, specialist in infectious diseases, explained that poliomyelitis, although eradicated in Algeria, requires a rapid and coordinated response in the event of the appearance of variants. “These mutated viruses appear when the vaccination rate drops, allowing the weakened virus to regain its pathogenic power,” she said. She stressed the importance of introducing a new, more stable and safer vaccine, designed to better prevent this type of mutation. According to her, the polio virus can affect between 15 and 30% of adults.
The strategy presented by the Ministry of Health plans, in fact, to vaccinate 4,425,502 children during three successive campaigns, between November 23, 2025 and January 2026. The vaccines used will be nOPV2 and IPV, administered orally.
This vast operation is part of close cooperation between the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, in order to preserve the status of a polio-free country and ensure the health security of future generations.