{"id":22639,"date":"2025-05-20T17:29:12","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T17:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moneyformadagascar.org\/?p=22639"},"modified":"2025-07-15T14:09:18","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T14:09:18","slug":"widespread-vaccination-campaign-helps-madagascar-beat-polio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moneyformadagascar.org\/cy\/widespread-vaccination-campaign-helps-madagascar-beat-polio\/","title":{"rendered":"(English) Widespread vaccination campaign helps Madagascar beat Polio"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mae’n ddrwg gen i, mae'r cofnod hwn dim ond ar gael mewn English<\/a>.<\/p>

<\/p>\n

Madagascar has stopped a polio outbreak in its tracks after five years, by reaching more than 19 million people with life-saving vaccines against the disease.<\/h4>\n

The outbreak began in 2020, and directly threatened the lives of children younger than five and unvaccinated adults \u2013 a threat made greater by the severe food insecurity experienced by millions of Malagasy men, women and children.<\/h4>\n

At its peak, in September 2023, the outbreak saw 287 cases of Variant Poliovirus Type 1 confirmed, including 45 cases of acute flaccid paralysis (paralysis caused by muscle atrophy and weakness), 44 community cases and 198 positive identifications of polio in wastewater across the country.<\/h4>\n

In January 2023, two paralysis cases were reported in adults, and the disease was present in 30 districts of Madagascar\u2019s 13 regions.<\/h4>\n

In response to this growing emergency, the country\u2019s government \u2013 including public calls from Malagasy president Andry Rajoelina and first lady Mialy Razakandisa Rajoelina for people to get vaccinated \u2013 working with the Gobal Polio Eradication Initiative and Madagascar\u2019s Rotarians, launched national vaccination campaigns.<\/h4>\n

As a result, more than 19 million Malagasy men, women and children got vaccinated and this meant that the 32m people in Madagascar ensured the island reached a 95 per cent vaccination level.<\/h4>\n

The impact has been exceptional \u2013 no new cases have been reported since September 2023, and Madagascar is, as of Tuesday 20 May 2025, allowed to declare the outbreak over.<\/h4>\n

That declaration is an achievement. For the certification to be met, Madagascar and Malagasy people had to ensure high population immunity, prove that no polio transmission was missed, and have at least 12 consecutive months without poliovirus detection in humans or the environment, such as sewage or wastewater.<\/h4>\n

Etleva Kadilli, UNICEF\u2019s regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa, said: \u2018This achievement is due to strong collaboration of the government, partners and health workers who worked tirelessly in the frontlines. Madagascar offers a beacon of hope for polio eradication efforts across Africa.\u2019<\/h4>\n

Mrs Rajoelina added: \u2018The progress made in recent years in the immunisation and eradication of polio is a hopeful sign. Today, polio is finally eradicated. Together, we have proved that it is possible to overcome limits and build lasting change. Let’s continue to act, raise awareness and join forces to give every child a healthy future.\u2019<\/h4>\n

We welcome these words and would go further.<\/h4>\n

This achievement \u2013 and it is an achievement, because polio is a killer, and a threat to the long-term health of entire populations \u2013 is proof that Malagasy people, as individuals and communities, can, with technical and equipmental assistance, overcome great threats and challenges.<\/h4>\n

Our work<\/a>, helping Malagasy people reach their potential, lift themselves from hunger and improve their lives through their own efforts and initiative, is a testament to this, just as this victory for Madagascar against a dangerous disease is a testament to collective action.<\/h4>\n

(Photo copyright: UNICEF\/UNI591704\/Ramasomanana)<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mae’n ddrwg gen i, mae’r cofnod hwn dim ond ar gael mewn English. Madagascar has stopped a polio outbreak in its tracks after five years, by reaching more than 19 million people with life-saving vaccines against the disease. The outbreak began in 2020, and directly threatened the lives of children younger than five and unvaccinated adults \u2013 a threat made greater by the severe food insecurity experienced by millions of Malagasy men, women and children. At its peak, in September 2023, the outbreak saw 287 cases of Variant Poliovirus Type 1 confirmed, including 45 cases of acute flaccid paralysis (paralysis… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":22640,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[217,235,288,187,188],"tags":[115,205,464,466,465],"class_list":["post-22639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-children","category-community","category-health","category-madagascar","category-malagasy","tag-madagascar","tag-malagasy","tag-polio","tag-unicef","tag-vaccinations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moneyformadagascar.org\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moneyformadagascar.org\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moneyformadagascar.org\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moneyformadagascar.org\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moneyformadagascar.org\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22639"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/moneyformadagascar.org\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22919,"href":"https:\/\/moneyformadagascar.org\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22639\/revisions\/22919"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moneyformadagascar.org\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moneyformadagascar.org\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moneyformadagascar.org\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moneyformadagascar.org\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}