National Stop Transmission of Polio (NSTOP) in Nigeria and its role in eradication of polio and control and prevention of other vaccine preventable diseases and malaria, 2012 - 2017: progress, impact and lessons learned.

The National Stop Transmission of Polio (NSTOP) program was created in July 2012 as a collaborative effort of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC), the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the Nigeria Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (NFELTP) with the goal of reinforcing the Nigeria Polio Eradication Initiative and supporting the government of Nigeria activities to interrupt transmission, eradicate polio and ultimately to strengthen routine immunization. At inception, twelve states with the highest risk for polio transmission and under-performing indicators based on the Emergency Operation Center (EOC)’s risk assessment were selected as priority engagement states with a focus on vaccination of children under 5 years with oral poliovirus vaccine in remote nomadic, scattered, underserved, hard-to-reach and border populations in Northern Nigeria. Overtime, NSTOP’s activities expanded to include improving supplementary immunization activities (SIAs), training and capacity building for routine immunization staff, updating microplans, conducting supportive supervision, strengthening immunization data management, enhancing surveillance for acute flaccid paralysis and other vaccine-preventable diseases, and rapid response to disease outbreaks and other public health emergencies. This supplement summarizes progress, lessons learned and major achievements of the NSTOP program from inception to date, and highlights its roles in the Nigeria polio eradication efforts and in country’s efforts to improve routine immunization and control and prevention of vaccine-preventable diseases.