Droughts, famines and displacement
Polio in Somalia: the 2005 and 2013 outbreaks and vaccine-derived polio since 2017
The largest polio years reported to WHO are 2013 (195 cases) and 2005 (185 cases). The 2013 to 2014 wild polio outbreak began in Somalia and spread to Kenya and Ethiopia; its last case had paralysis in Somalia in August 2014. Since 2017 Somalia has had outbreaks of vaccine-derived poliovirus types 2 and 3; the type 3 outbreak was declared closed in 2021.
In short
Polio cases in Somalia have been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) since 1983. The two largest years are 2013 (195 cases) and 2005 (185 cases) (WHO Global Health Observatory, poliomyelitis reported cases, Somalia).
The 2013 outbreak of wild poliovirus type 1 began in Somalia and spread to Kenya and Ethiopia. From 2017, a different kind of polio appeared: circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV), which can spread where too few children are vaccinated (ReliefWeb, Horn of Africa: Polio Outbreak – Aug 2018).
Cases reported to WHO
| Year | Cases | Item | Year | Cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 70 | 2004 | 0 | |
| 1984 | 19 | 2005 | 185 | |
| 1985 | 6 | 2006 | 35 | |
| 1986 | 1 | 2007 | 8 | |
| 1987 | 53 | 2008 | 1 | |
| 1988 | 54 | 2009 | 6 | |
| 1989 | 155 | 2010 | 1 | |
| 1997 | 1 | 2011 | 9 | |
| 1998 | 12 | 2012 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 19 | 2013 | 195 | |
| 2000 | 96 | 2014 | 5 | |
| 2001 | 7 | 2015 to 2017 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 3 | 2018 | 12 | |
| 2003 | 0 |
Source: WHO Global Health Observatory, indicator WHS3_49, downloaded 13 November 2026. Years not shown were not reported.
The 2013 to 2014 wild polio outbreak
- First case. Confirmed in Somalia on 9 May 2013, in Banadir and Bay. It was "the first outbreak in Somalia since 2007" (Global Polio Eradication Initiative, GPEI, 30 May 2013).
- Spread. By 14 August 2013 Somalia had 105 cases, "the worst outbreak in the world in a non-endemic country" according to OCHA (OCHA, 15 August 2013).
- End of 2013. The Horn of Africa total stood at 203 cases: 183 in Somalia, 14 in Kenya and 6 in Ethiopia (GPEI, 24 December 2013).
- 2014. By 18 June 2014 the total was 219: 195 in Somalia, 14 in Kenya, 10 in Ethiopia (GPEI, 18 June 2014).
- Last case. The last wild polio case on the African continent at that time had paralysis in Somalia on 11 August 2014 (GPEI, 18 February 2015).
All from ReliefWeb, Horn of Africa: Polio Outbreak – May 2013.
Vaccine-derived polio since 2017
- 2018. Types 2 and 3 (cVDPV2 and cVDPV3) were confirmed. By October 2018 there were 12 cases, several of them in children from inaccessible areas of Lower Juba and Middle Shabelle; one five-month-old "had never received polio vaccination" (WHO/UNICEF, 8 and 15 October 2018).
- Campaigns. A nationwide campaign in October 2018 targeted about 2.6 million children under five. By November 2018 there had been ten targeted campaigns (WHO/UNICEF, 8 October 2018; Health Cluster, 30 November 2018).
- 2019. A type 2 case in Laascaanood, Sool, had paralysis on 15 March 2019. Somalia reported three type 2 cases that year. The same strain caused cases in Ethiopia's Somali region, and the outbreak was declared a regional public health emergency by Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia (WHO/UNICEF, 28 April 2019; WHO, 31 July 2019).
- 2020. Somalia reported 13 type 2 cases, including in Banadir and Woqooyi Galbeed, and 25 or more positive sewage samples. By November 2020 there had been 27 vaccine-derived cases since 2018 (GPEI, 11 November 2020; 13 January 2021).
- 2021. WHO declared the type 3 outbreak closed, "a full 28 months after this strain of polio was last detected in Somalia". One type 2 case in Salagle, Middle Juba, had paralysis on 12 May 2021 (GPEI, 14 April 2021; WHO, 17 February 2022).
All from ReliefWeb, Horn of Africa: Polio Outbreak – Aug 2018.
Related pages
Sources
- World Health Organization. Global Health Observatory: poliomyelitis, number of reported cases (WHS3_49), Somalia.
- ReliefWeb. Horn of Africa: Polio Outbreak – May 2013 (GPEI, OCHA, IFRC reports, 2013 to 2015).
- ReliefWeb. Horn of Africa: Polio Outbreak – Aug 2018 (WHO, UNICEF, OCHA, GPEI reports, 2018 to 2023).
Sources
- WHO Global Health Observatory, poliomyelitis reported cases, Somalia · ghoapi.azureedge.net
- ReliefWeb, Horn of Africa: Polio Outbreak – Aug 2018 · reliefweb.int
- ReliefWeb, Horn of Africa: Polio Outbreak – May 2013 · reliefweb.int
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Where this matters
- Muqdisho (Mogadishu) and BanaadirMogadishu (Muqdisho) is Somalia's capital and makes up the Banadir region, with about 2.97 million people in 20 districts.
- Jowhar (Johar) and Middle ShabelleMiddle Shabelle is the farming region along the Shabelle river north of Mogadishu, with Jowhar as its capital and about 1 to 1.26 million people.
- Marka (Merca) and Lower ShabelleLower Shabelle is Somalia's biggest farming region, along the Shabelle river south-west of Mogadishu, with Marka (Merca) as its capital and about 835,000 to…
- Baydhabo (Baidoa) and BayBay is a farming region in South West State, with Baidoa (Baydhabo) as its main city and about 1.25 to 1.8 million people.
- Bu'aale (Buale) and Middle JubaMiddle Juba is a farming region on the Juba river in the south, with about 447,000 people.
- Kismaayo (Kismayo) and Lower JubaLower Juba is the far southern region on the border with Kenya, with the port city of Kismayo (Kismaayo) as its capital and about 1.2 million people.
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- Bristol (Somali diaspora)9,167 people in Bristol identified as Somali or Somalilander in Census 2021, the city's largest minority group. Where they live, work, housing, leaders and ties home.
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada2,845 people of Somali origin lived in Calgary at the 2021 Census, plus 890 in Brooks. How they came, who serves them and what they face.
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- DjiboutiAbout 13,900 refugees from Somalia live in Djibouti (Aug 2026): numbers since 1990, Ali Addeh, Holl-Holl, the 2017 refugee law, Arta 2000 and 2025 returns.
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