Kigali, 18 April 2016 – On 04 April 2016, the Government of Rwanda with support from WHO and immunization partners made history as the first country in the African Region to introduce bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine (bOPV) in place of the trivalent Oral Polio Vaccine (tOPV) into the schedule of the routine immunization programme for all children under the age of one.

The switch from tOPV to bOPV in Rwanda’s routine immunization programme is part of ongoing global efforts to eradicate polio and strengthen routine immunization. It follows the confirmation, in September 2015, by the Global Certification Commission on Polio Eradication that the Type 2 polio virus has been eradicated.

The rest of the African regional countries will be joining Rwanda in making the universal switch in the month of April 2016, as part of the Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan 2013-2018. This plan aims to contribute to the eradication of polio and strengthening the gains made against the disease through robust immunisation programmes.

The success of Rwanda’s switch was due to the country’s planning that started in September 2014 and involvement of all immunization stakeholders. Rwanda carried out an inventory of the cold chain and the tOPV in the country, ensuring that there would be no stockout before the switch for the eligible children. The country made sure that there was recall of tOPV from all health facilities and replaced with bOPV at the same time minimizing tOPV waste. While recalling the tOPV the country the country also communicated effectively with health workers at all levels.

Speaking on lessons learnt from the switch, Mr Hassan Sibomana, Rwanda EPI Manager said: “It is important to ensure that private health facilities comply with the deadline to recall tOPV replacing it with bOPV and disposal of tOPV”. He also underscored the importance of supportive supervision and validation of the switch to ensure the success of the process.

The last polio case in Rwanda was reported in 1993 and the country remains vigilant in maintaining a high level of immunization against polio and other vaccine preventable diseases.

According to the Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan 2013-2018 there will be the withdrawal of OPVs in a globally synchronized manner, starting in April 2016 with a switch from trivalent OPV (tOPV) to bivalent OPV (bOPV), removing the type 2 components (OPV2) from immunization programmes.

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For more information, please contact:
Dr Olu Olushayo on email: oluo [at] who.int  
Dr Celse Rugambwa on email: rugambwace [at] who.int