Niamey—In a small camp set up on the outskirts of Gueskérrou, a locality in the Diffa region in Niger near the Nigerian border, Amina, 34, describes the conditions in which she has lived since fleeing insecurity in her home village. Now a refugee at this site, she was no longer certain her children could access essential health services. She recalls the unexpected visit of the vaccination team as an important moment for her family: “Health workers arrived with coolers of vaccines and registers. For the first time in a long while, I felt that my family had not been forgotten,” she explains.
This scene reflects the complex health situation in the Diffa region, which has six health districts, 83 integrated health centres and 186 health posts, 36 of which are closed due to insecurity. In this context, access to basic services remains uncertain for vulnerable families like Amina’s. With an estimated population of over 900 000, marked by the presence of internally displaced persons, refugees, and nomadic groups, the region remains exposed to the risk of poliovirus circulation.
Polio, a viral disease that can cause irreversible paralysis, continues to threaten children who have never received a vaccine—known as “zero dose”—as well as those insufficiently vaccinated. In some hard-to-reach areas of Diffa, the virus can circulate silently, putting the youngest at particular risk.
In response, the government, with support from the World Health Organization (WHO), has strengthened a