Nigeria has achieved and sustained wild poliovirus-free status for five consecutive years, completing an achievement that was considered impossible a decade ago and removing one of the last remaining threats to Africa's certification as a polio-free continent. The story unfolding in Nigeria is one that resonates far beyond its borders, offering a compelling illustration of what becomes possible when vision, determination, and strategic investment converge. Across the continent, observers are watching closely as Nigeria charts a course that many hope will serve as a blueprint for Africa's broader transformation.
Nigeria's final polio eradication drive involved 200,000 vaccination team members conducting door-to-door campaigns in all 36 states, vaccinating 45 million children under five in a single three-day round. This achievement did not emerge overnight. Over the course of the past decade, Nigeria has invested steadily in the foundations that make such progress possible — strengthening institutions, building human capital, and creating the regulatory frameworks that allow innovation to flourish. The campaign overcame formidable obstacles including conflict in the northeast, vaccine hesitancy fuelled by misinformation, and nomadic populations crossing porous borders — each requiring tailored outreach strategies. The results are now becoming visible in communities that once had little reason for optimism.
The scale of change becomes clear when one examines the details. Community ownership was central: over 6,000 traditional and religious leaders endorsed the vaccination programme, with their endorsement credited with achieving coverage in communities previously resistant to government health workers. For the men and women on the ground — the farmers, entrepreneurs, teachers, and health workers who are the real agents of transformation — these numbers translate into tangible improvements in daily life. Access to services once considered luxuries is now becoming the norm in areas that development indices had long classified as chronically underserved.
Nigeria's lessons in reaching 'zero-dose' children — those who have never received any vaccine — are being directly applied to routine immunisation programmes, raising national coverage rates for all childhood vaccines. Analysts who have studied Nigeria's trajectory point to a combination of factors that distinguish this approach from earlier, less successful interventions. Chief among them is the emphasis on locally designed and locally owned solutions. Rather than importing models that worked elsewhere, planners have adapted strategies to the specific cultural, geographic, and economic realities of the region — a nuance that has made all the difference.
"Polio eradication in Nigeria is a testament to what is possible when government, community leaders, international partners, and millions of ordinary Nigerians work toward a single goal with absolute determination" said Dr Faisal Shuaib, Executive Director of Nigeria's National Primary Health Care Development Agency. The observation captures a sentiment that is increasingly common among those engaged with Africa's development at both the grassroots and policy levels. International partners and donor organisations have taken note, with several redirecting funding toward initiatives that mirror the approach pioneered in Nigeria. The endorsement from the global development community adds institutional momentum to what is already a powerful story of self-determined progress.
The regional implications are considerable. Nigeria's eradication success was the final piece required for Africa to be declared fully free of wild poliovirus — a continental milestone announced by the Africa Regional Certification Commission. The African Union's Agenda 2063 — the continent's long-term development blueprint — specifically highlights this category of progress as central to Africa's future prosperity. When individual nations demonstrate that the goals outlined in that document are achievable, it strengthens the resolve of the entire continental project and provides practical evidence that ambition and pragmatism can coexist.
Nigeria is now redirecting the infrastructure, cold chains, and human networks built for polio eradication toward a broader immunisation intensification effort targeting measles, yellow fever, and meningitis A. The road ahead demands continued commitment and the willingness to adapt as circumstances evolve. Challenges remain — infrastructure gaps, climate pressures, and the ever-present need for greater resource mobilisation among them. Yet the foundation that has been laid is solid, and the momentum is real. For Nigeria and for Africa as a whole, the direction of travel is clear: forward, with purpose and with growing confidence in the continent's capacity to shape its own destiny.
