Tanzanian health authorities said on Saturday that 10,313,887 children aged below five years will be vaccinated against polio between April 28 and May 1 in mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar.

A statement by the Ministry of Health said the vaccination will be conducted after neighboring Malawi reported an outbreak of the disease on February 17 when a three-year-old child was diagnosed with polio.

Children in four regions of Mbeya, Songwe, Ruvuma and Njombe neighboring Malawi have already been vaccinated against polio, said the statement without mentioning the number of children vaccinated in the four regions.

The statement said the Ministry of Health will undertake the vaccination in collaboration with the President's Office responsible for Regional Administration and Local Government, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund and development partners.

The statement signed by the Chief Medical Officer in the Ministry of Health, Aifello Sichalwe, urged district and regional commissioners across the country to oversee the vaccination.

The statement said the last polio case in Tanzania was reported in 1996 in Mtwara region, adding that in 2020 polio was declared eliminated in the African region.

According to the statement, polio is still prevalent in Afghanistan and Pakistan.