In February 2026, the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Zambia detected vaccine-linked poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) in environmental sewage samples in Lusaka. With the threat the detection poses, particularly the threat of human cases of paralysis, the MOH declared a national public health emergency. As part of the emergency response, MOH launched the novel Oral Polio Vaccine type 2 (nOPV2), the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended vaccine to stop outbreaks of cVDPV2, and led a four-day (April 20 – April 23, 2026) supplementary immunization campaign in Central, Eastern, Lusaka, Muchinga, Southern, and Western Provinces.

During the campaign period, PCZ leveraged its Empowered Children and Adolescents Program (ECAP) platforms in Central, Muchinga, Southern, and Western provinces to support MOH. Through over 500 ECAP Community Case Workers/Community Health Workers, they took vaccination services to children under five years of age as close to their homes as possible.

The ECAP Case Workers, working in close collaboration with primary health care workers, vaccinated over 13,000 children in Central, Southern, Muchinga, and Western Provinces during the campaign period.

Our gratitude goes to the American people through the U.S. State Department, American Embassy Zambia, and the Helmsley Foundation, who are supporting us to implement ECAP II and ECAP+ programs in Central, Southern, Muchinga, and Western Provinces. Because of you, we have prevented paralysis in 13,000 children in Zambia!