"Kick Out Polio" campaign./ PHOTO Courtesy
With millions of fans expected to follow the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), a coalition of global health organisations, philanthropies and youth advocates is using the tournament to rally fresh support for one of Africa’s longest-running public health campaigns ending polio.
The “Kick Out Polio” campaign, led by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), brings together the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, Rotary International, the Gates Foundation, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, national governments and African women football stars to encourage communities and political leaders to sustain investments in immunisation.
The campaign comes at a critical moment. Although the African Region recorded a 50 per cent decline in detections of variant poliovirus during the first half of 2026 compared with the same period last year, health partners warn that conflict, displacement, misinformation and shrinking financial resources continue to threaten hard-earned gains.
Rather than focusing solely on vaccination campaigns, the initiative highlights the broader systems that make immunisation possible, from community health workers and volunteers to civil society organisations and donors that finance outreach in remote and crisis-affected communities.
“Governments and institutions alone cannot end polio. It will be the people of Africa who finish the job. That is the spirit of the Kick Out Polio campaign,” said Ramou Ndure, UNICEF West and Central Africa Deputy Regional Director.
Rotary International, one of the campaign’s longest-standing philanthropic partners, said the tournament presents an opportunity to connect sport with social change.
“Every girl deserves the opportunity to play, lead, and thrive on and off the field. Rotary is proud to be a part of the Kick Out Polio campaign to make that opportunity real,” said Rotary International President Olayinka Babalola.
The campaign also recognises women as key drivers of Africa’s immunisation efforts.
Beyond the footballers lending their voices, women serve as vaccinators, community mobilisers and trusted health workers who help reach children in underserved communities.
Dr. Marie Belizaire, WHO African Region Regional Emergency Director, said completing the eradication effort would deliver benefits far beyond eliminating a single disease.
“Finishing polio is not simply about ending one disease. It is an investment in the health, potential and future of an entire generation,” she said.
As WAFCON celebrates the rise of women’s football, the campaign hopes the tournament will also mobilise renewed political will, philanthropic investment and community action to ensure no child is left behind in Africa’s final push to eradicate polio.
