Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, 30 August 2017:  African health ministers currently meeting for the 67th Session of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee in Zimbabwe have agreed on ten priority actions to guide countries to eliminate Yellow Fever (YF) epidemics by 2026.

YF is caused by a virus and may lead to severe bleeding and death if patients don’t receive quick treatment. The disease affects several African countries and is characterized by fever, headache, jaundice, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting and fatigue.

Introducing the Framework for implementing the Global Strategy to Eliminate YF on behalf of the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti,  the Acting Director for the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, Dr Zabulon Yoti informed the ministers that low YF vaccination rates, limited vaccine supply and emergency stockpile, inadequate implementation of the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005), climate change, rapid urbanization are some of the factors that have put over 440 million people at risk. The World Health Organization estimates that in one of the worst outbreaks in 2013, there were about 170 000 severe YF cases in Africa that led to about 60 000 deaths. The massive pre-emptive vaccination of over 30 million people during the recent outbreak in Angola and DRC was a measure that averted an epidemic that could have been of similar magnitude to that of 2013.

“Yellow Fever is still a serious public health risk within and outside the Region. With a single dose of YF vaccine per person, elimination of YF epidemics is indeed a quick public health gain. Country ownership and leadership is critical to protect people at risk through preventive and routine vaccination,” he said.

The Ministers have committed to undertake WHO recommended risk assessments, catch-up campaigns and adhere to implementation of the International Health Regulations (IHR) especially for travellers to and from high risk countries to tackle the disease.  Other actions will be to vaccinate all people in high risk countries, improve routine immunization, vaccinate every eligible child as well as protect workers in high-risk industries such as oil, mining, construction and forestry. 

The ministers have also pledged to prepare “readiness plans” that can facilitate quick response to an outbreak on YF in urban centres. This will also entail sustaining vector surveillance and control programmes in cities and strengthening surveillance and early detection mechanisms. 

In addition, they undertook to establish a regional surveillance network that will bring all high-risk countries together in order to standardize prevention and treatment procedures. The ministers called on the International Coordinating Group to ensure availability of a stockpile of YF emergency supplies that can back-stop countries in cases of outbreaks.   This will go hand-in-hand with fostering response system that facilitates rapid case detection, reactive vaccination, good case management, vector control and community mobilization.

With the above actions people in 35 high-risk African countries will be protected against YF and international spread of the disease will be prevented through prompt detection, confirmation and rapid containment of YF outbreaks on the continent.