Epidemiologist at Médecins Sans Frontières Belgium | Public Health, Immunization and Health Risks Specialist | One Health Researcher
#Introducing the Malaria Vaccine *Exiting news as #Liberia plans to implement the New Malaria vaccine into the EPI program. *Targets counties with moderate-to-high transmission of malaria. This is a game-changer in the fight against this deadly disease, coupled with other preventive measures. #How can national programs effectively introduce this new tool, ensuring the safety of children while maximizing its impact? This guide provides a roadmap, drawing on lessons learned from pilot programs: #Decision-making: -Assess malaria burden and local transmission. -Engage key stakeholders (immunization, malaria, maternal health). -Establish a technical working group for coordination, including AEFI experts. -Seek expert advice from National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups. -Prioritize areas for rollout based on need, resource constraints, and AEFI monitoring capacity. #Planning: -Integrate malaria vaccine into national immunization and malaria strategies, including robust AEFI plans. -Develop training materials for healthcare workers on safe administration, monitoring, and AEFI reporting. -Ensure adequate cold chain capacity and vaccine safety. -Plan for demand promotion, communication, and addressing vaccine hesitancy. #Implementation: -Train healthcare workers on safe administration, monitoring, and AEFI reporting procedures. -Mobilize communities and address vaccine hesitancy, emphasizing safety measures. -Integrate with other child health services, ensuring smooth reporting of AEFI. -Monitor coverage and safety closely, with active and passive surveillance systems for AEFI. #Monitoring and Evaluation: -Track vaccine coverage, impact on malaria burden, and AEFI. -Analyze AEFI data, identify patterns, and take corrective action if needed. -Regularly evaluate and improve AEFI Monitoring systems for continuous improvement. -Remember, collaboration between immunization and malaria programs, is crucial for the safe and successful introduction of this important tool. #malariavaccine #publichealth #childhealth #globalhealth #prevention #AEFImonitoring #WHO #TGF #Gavi #UNICEF https://lnkd.in/eiYM2n6Q.
Giant stride Elvis
Ph.D.(s) in Public Health ||Global Population Health Diagnostician and Sustainable Solutions Provider||
7moCouldn’t agree more on this. Like I usually say, just saying: “let’s vaccinate our children” isn’t enough. Tambe Elvis Akem, MD, MSc, MPH. Thanks for sharing this piece bro. Let me further digest it.