Malabo (Equatorial Guinea) 30 August 2010 -- Significant progress has been made in immunization coverage and efforts to eradicate polio in the African Region, but challenges remain and immediate remedial actions need to be taken.

This assessment of the status of routine immunization and polio eradication efforts in the African Region is contained in a technical document being discussed today by the 60th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa taking place from 30 August to 3 September in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

Among the achievements listed in the document is an 85 % coverage for the third dose of DPT-containing vaccine in 2009 compared to 82 %in 2008, with 20 Member States reporting at least 90 % coverage at national level in 2009. Progress was also recorded in the introduction of new vaccines such as Hepatitis B and Haemophilus Influenza b type vaccines in 45 and 43 countries respectively.

It says that steady progress was reported in interrupting wild poliovirus transmission in countries with Nigeria, the only polio-endemic country in the Region , reporting only two polio cases at the at the end of April 2010, compared to 236 cases at the same period in 2009.

With regard to measles, the document points out that estimated deaths due to the disease in 2008 had reduced by 92% (representing 28 000 deaths) compared to 2000 levels (371 000 deaths) mainly as a result of the supplemental immunization activities conducted in the Re-gion.

Still, says the document, several challenges face the Region.

These include issues related to immunization policy and planning such as failure by coun-tries to update policies to include recent developments; non-enforcement of existing legislation requiring presentation of the immunization status of children at school entry, and low capacity to plan and manage implementation measures targeting hard to reach areas.

Other challenges are unpredictability of international funding for immunization activities; inadequate infrastructure; low demand for and continued use of immunization services; unreliability of data to allow for quality monitoring and evaluation; significant gaps in meet-ng surveillance indicators of vaccine-preventable diseases, and limited operational research on immunization in the Africa Region.

The document lists ten recommendations aimed at improving routine immunization activities and accelerating polio eradication in the Region.

These are:

• Integrating immunization policy into national health development policies and strategic plans, with immunization interventions quantified, costed and incorporated in the various components of national health systems strengthening
• Increasing immunization financing by ensuring that adequate funds are allocated and actually disbursed for routine immunization and polio eradication initiatives
• Fostering partnership for immunization through advocacy activities and mobilization of other sectors, leaders and communities to support polio eradication and high immunization coverage.
• Improving access to new vaccines by intensifying advocacy for reducing the prices of vaccines.
• Enhancing institutional, human resource and managerial capacity
• Broadening community awareness, participation and ownership
• Strengthening monitoring and evaluation
• Strengthening surveillance of vaccine-preventable diseases
• Strengthening immunization research, and
• Institutionalizing an annual African Immunization Week as a means of sustaining advocacy and improving the delivery and uptake of immunization services.

For more information, please contact:

Technical contact

Dr Deo Nshimirimana , WHO/AFRO, Brazzaville; Tel. + 47 241 39154; E-mail: nshimirimanad [at] afro.who.int

Media contact

Samuel T. Ajibola, WHO/AFRO, Brazzaville; Tel: (+242) 7700202; + 41 241 39378; E-mail: ajibolas [at] afro.who.int