AMREF’s Post

Interventions and adaptations to strengthen data quality and use for COVID-19 vaccination: a mixed methods evaluation

💡 Mpox vaccination campaign to launch in Congo. Authorities have announced that a vaccination drive against mpox will begin on October 2, prioritizing the three most affected provinces. This targeted campaign is a crucial step in controlling the outbreak and protecting public health in Congo, focusing on the regions with the highest incidence of cases. 💉🌍 #PublicHealth #MpoxVaccination #HealthInitiatives https://lnkd.in/d3w-tQYV

Identifying socio-cultural barriers to vaccination uptake is a critical step in improving health outcomes, as this example from Uganda and measles vaccination in children demonstrates: https://bit.ly/41ZTpJf #ImmunizationWeek #HealthOutcomes #Measles #SocioCulturalBarriers #VaccinationAwareness #MeaslesPrevention

𝟮𝟭 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝘁 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗩𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 In fragile and conflict-affected regions, delivering vaccines is increasingly difficult due to displaced populations and crumbling health infrastructure. As a result, millions of children are left unvaccinated, raising the risk of preventable diseases. 𝗜𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯, 𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝟮𝟭 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲-𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀. Of these, 14.5 million children received no vaccinations at all, leaving them vulnerable to life-threatening yet preventable diseases. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀: 📚𝗟𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀: Displaced populations often lack vaccination records, making it difficult to track and administer necessary vaccines 👩👩👧👦𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: Camps are often overcrowded, increasing the risk of disease outbreaks, such as measles, due to insufficient vaccination coverage 🏥𝗜𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: Limited access to clean water, sanitation, and healthcare facilities hinders the effectiveness of vaccination efforts 🚚𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: Conflicts and insecurity disrupt vaccine supply chains, delaying immunization programs 🏦𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀: Many refugee-hosting regions have already strained health systems, which are often unable to accommodate the additional vaccine needs of refugee populations 🎯 𝗪𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲-𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆. UNICEF World Health Organization Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance World Economic Forum #awareness #zerohealthgappledge #vaccines #Healthcarelnequality #InnovateForEquity #ActionNow #innovation #humanitarianaid

Measles remains a major cause of disease and death worldwide. Ethiopia introduced the MCV2 in 2018 and launched it into the routine immunization program in 2019 to boost immunity and halt repeated measles outbreaks. However, there is a persistently high incidence of measles in some areas of Ethiopia. Estimating the coverage of measles vaccination and understanding the geographical distribution of measles vaccination dropout is crucial to setting up appropriate interventions. This study was carried out to estimate the coverage and dropout rate of measles vaccination and map the spatial distribution of high- and low-risk areas for vaccination dropout in remote and underserved settings of Ethiopia. A few takeaways: Overall, coverages of MCV1 and MCV2 were 67% and 35%, respectively. Developing regions (Afar, Somali, Gambella, and Benishangul Gumuz regions) had the lowest coverages of MCV1 and MCV2, 46.4% and 21.2%, respectively. On average, the measles vaccination dropout estimate was 48.3%. Refugees had the highest measles vaccination dropout estimate (56.4%). The hot spot analysis detected the highest burden of measles vaccination dropout mainly in the northeastern parts of Ethiopia, such as the Afar Region’s zones 1 and 5, the Amhara Region’s North Gondar Zone, and peripheral areas in the Benishangul Gumuz Region’s Assosa Zone. https://lnkd.in/gJ3ZEBsb

Last year, the Chemonics-led USAID Building a Resilient Health System project, along with the Senegalese Ministry of Health and Social Action (MSAS), project implement a #COVID19 vaccine acceleration initiative starting with Kaffrine district. In February 2022, only 10% of the population had received the COVID-19 vaccine. The MSAS set a vaccination target of 50% for those aged 18 or older receiving at least one dose in December 2022. Our project built the capacity of #HealthWorkers, addressed supply-and-demand factors affecting the COVID-19 vaccination, addressed data integration and information system gaps, and implemented a results-based financing mechanism based on a one-month vaccinations campaign. As a result, one-dose COVID-19 vaccination rates doubled in one month from 10% to 19%, and the full coverage vaccination rate increased from 7.7% to 13%. Learn more about how the project achieved this: https://ow.ly/Y6fI50QAcVS

𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐲? According to a recent report, the vaccination coverage rates [globally] have not yet returned to pre-Covid levels. The report further identifies South Africa as the 6th-worst in the African region for zero-dose children totalling 220,000 in 2023. 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬: 📉 Stagnant Global Coverage: Global immunisation coverage for the DTP3 vaccine (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis) stalled at 84% in 2023, unchanged from 2022. 🇿🇦 South Africa's Decline: South Africa saw a significant drop in DTP1 and DTP3 vaccine coverage, falling from 87% to 81% and 85% to 79%, respectively, between 2022 and 2023. 😷 Measles Coverage: South Africa experienced the sharpest decline in the African region, with coverage dropping from 86% in 2022 to 80% in 2023. 🏥 Healthcare System Issues: Experts point to the dysfunctionality of primary healthcare and inadequate governance structures as key challenges. "𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑊𝐻𝑂 𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑙𝑒𝑑𝑔𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎 𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑠. 𝐼𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑚𝑚𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑑𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑎 𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛." The implications for unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children are severe, leaving them vulnerable to life-threatening diseases. Such inaccuracies, as pointed out by the WHO, can effectively be eliminated with the integration of a nationwide digitalised health information system. South Africa must re-evaluate and strengthen its immunisation programme to protect its youngest citizens. Let's ensure no child is left behind. The time for action is now. #PublicHealth #Immunisation Link to the full article below 👇🏻

Staggering statistics! While it’s true that immunisation rates have dropped significantly since the onset of the pandemic, it will be interesting to understand the underlying causes for this. Here are my thoughts: > Speculation and fear-mongering leading up to and following the release of the Covid-19 vaccines have led people to question whether or not taking standard vaccines are in their best interest. > Restrictions led people to figure out alternatives for what we previously accepted as standard westernised treatments. In other words, many people have decided to resort to herbal remedies. > Both of these [adapted] viewpoints have contributed to a significant drop in the recording of standard vaccinations, especially in young children. There are very likely many other reasons and factors contributing to these statistics. But converting the record keeping process for immunisations to a digital solution and synchronising those records across public and private facilities (Dischem and Clicks in-house essential care clinics and municipal clinics), will drive a significant improvements. This, in turn, will lead to more accurate statistics given the government actionable data. #PublicHealth #HealthTech

Mozambique will introduce the malaria vaccine this year. In the image, the Mozambican Minister of Health, Armando Tiago, interacting with mothers and children in the context of the launch of the African Vaccination Week near the Bagamoyo Health Center, in the city of Maputo. This year's celebrations take place at a time when we celebrate 50 years of immunization of populations worldwide, and that is why the theme of this year's celebrations is: "50 years of vaccination - Vaccines save lives". Vaccination is the most successful and cost-effective public health intervention and is a priority of the Mozambican Government. In Mozambique, the vaccination program has been operational since 1979, meaning that for 45 years we have been saving lives through vaccination. In this process, VillageReach has been a partner through various projects. #USAID #CDC #MISAU #Vaccine #Immunization#VaccinesWork #HealthForAll #PublicHealth #ProtectOurChildren #GlobalHealth #ChildHealth #HealthyLiving #PreventiveHealth #CommunityHealth #Healthcare #Wellness #LifeSaving #StaySafe #HealthyKids #HealthEducation #ChildhoodImmunization #DiseasePrevention #HealthyCommunities

Healthcare is a human right, yet millions face barriers like cost, discrimination, and misinformation. The Access Challenge harnessed digital media to increase #COVID19 vaccinations in Tanzania and the DRC, reaching 36M and 25M individuals, respectively. Read more about the power of #digitaloutreach for overcoming vaccine hesitancy and empowering communities Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance