Yemen launches campaign to vaccinate 1.3 mln children against polio resurgence

13/7/2025 7:03

Yemen's internationally-recognized government launched a three-day polio vaccination campaign on Saturday, as the war-ravaged country is battling a resurgence of the disease, according to the state-run Saba news agency.



Nearly 7,000 health teams will administer oral vaccines door-to-door or at health facilities, focusing on 120 high-risk districts.



The drive, targeting 1.35 million children across 12 provinces under the government's control, came as data from the World Health Organization and UNICEF showed that 282 variant polio cases have been reported in the country since 2021, 98 percent of which in children under the age of 5, with national polio immunization coverage dropping to 46 percent in 2023 amid war-disrupted healthcare.



"Yemen remains at high risk for poliovirus outbreaks due to protracted conflict, weakened health systems and low routine immunization coverage," said Acting WHO Representative in Yemen Ferima Coulbibaly-Zerbo in a joint statement issued by the WHO and UNICEF.