United Nations, February 18, 2023, SPA—More than 33 million children in several southern African countries have been vaccinated against polio as part of ongoing efforts to eradicate the infectious paralytic disease that has been largely contained in most of the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced Friday. About 80 million drops of the inoculation have been given orally to children across Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe since the launch of an emergency response in March 2022, the U.N. health agency said in a statement. Africa was certified as free of indigenous wild poliovirus in 2020. But Malawi detected wild polio in a young child in its capital, Lilongwe, in February 2020, and the virus spread to neighboring Mozambique, which recorded the last of eight confirmed cases in August 2022. The WHO said the recent polio strain originated from Pakistan, which along with neighbor Afghanistan are the only two countries where the virus remains entrenched. Vaccinations will continue in southern Africa “so that every child receives the protection they need,” said WHO Africa director Matshidiso Moeti. At least five vaccination rounds are planned for this year, following 19 that took place last year, she said, adding the region has “made huge efforts” to strengthen polio detection and control the spread of the virus. --SPA 10:49 LOCAL TIME 07:49 GMT 0007 www.spa.gov.sa/w1855739