The 8th African Vaccination Week gets underway today. Here’s what you should know…
Today April 23 is the first day of the 8th African Vaccination Week with the over-arching slogan: “Vaccinated communities, Healthy communities”.
African Vaccination Week is an annual event celebrated during the last week of April in synchronization with the other WHO Regions and the World Immunization Week (WIW). It is led and coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa and implemented by countries. The goal of the AVW is to strengthen immunization programmes in the African Region by increasing awareness of the importance of every person’s (particularly every child and woman) need and right to be protected from vaccine-preventable diseases.
It aims at keeping immunization high on the national and regional agendas through advocacy and partnerships. It also promotes delivery of other high impact lifesaving interventions. The over-arching slogan of AVW is “Vaccinated communities, Healthy communities”.
According to World Health Organization (WHO), the 8th AVW will be celebrated from today 23 to 29 April 2018 with the theme “Vaccines work, Do your part!”
The theme highlights the collective action needed to ensure that every person is protected from vaccine-preventable diseases. It urges greater action on immunization across the African Region, with a particular focus on spotlighting the role that everyone can play in this effort, from donors to individuals.
This year’s AVW celebrations will happen in close connection with the ongoing implementation of the roadmap of the 10 commitment of the Ministers of health contained the Addis Ababa declaration and also with the World Immunization Week’s theme of “Protected Together: #VaccinesWork”.
2018 AVW campaign goals
In line with objectives of the global and regional immunization strategic plans, the persistent challenges to achieve the set targets, this year’s AVW will continue focus on advocacy and sensitization on the need and role of everyone to close the gap: individual, government, civil society, partners, etc
Therefore, WHO and partners aim at:
- Highlight the need and importance for everyone to get vaccinated/ update its immunization status throughout the life course, while also receiving other lifesaving interventions
- Ensuring full involvement and contribution of all stakeholder (CSO, OAFLA……)to make sure everyone is reached with vaccines and other health interventions
- Advocate for government and all stakeholders to allocate sufficient resources to immunization as per 10 ADI commitment.
Implementation and achievements of the 2017 AVW
Since its institutionalization in April 2011, countries have conducted large scale vaccination campaigns, small scale vaccination activities or information outreach and health promotion through immunization and other child survival interventions.
The results achieved in 2017 were the following:
- Nearly 14 million doses of vaccines administered in 19 countries
- About 10 million deworming tablets were distributed in Angola, CAR, Comoros, Madagascar, Rwanda
- 6.3 million vitamin A tablets were distributed in Angola, CAR, Comoros, Madagascar, Rwanda, Sao Tomé, Zimbabwe
- 7.7 million children screened for malnutrition in Angola, Madagascar and Rwanda
- 3,000 LLITN distributed in Angola
- Malaria and HIV testing activities in Angola and Madagascar, distribution of family planning devices in Rwanda.