Africa Health Forum launches immunisation road map to ensure full benefits of immunisation for all
At the 28th African Union (AU) Summit, on January 31, 2017, heads of state from across Africa endorsed the Addis Declaration on Immunisation (ADI), a historic pledge to ensure that everyone in Africa receives the full benefits of immunisation.
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To guide the implementation of the ADI, a road map has been developed in close collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) Offices in the African Region and Eastern Mediterranean Region, the AU Commission and immunisation partners.
Titled “Roadmap for Implementing the Addis Declaration on Immunisation: Advocacy, Action and Accountability, the new document was officially launched at the first WHO Africa Health Forum in Kigali, Rwanda.
It provides member states with three specific strategies that can be incorporated into existing efforts to improve immunisation in Africa.
The strategies include generating and sustaining political commitment and funding; strengthening technical capacity and overcoming barriers to access and closely monitoring progress.
“Vaccines are one of the most effective public health tools available today. When children are given a healthy start, communities thrive and economies grow,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO Regional Director for Africa. “The ADI road map will help guide and drive progress towards ensuring universal access to immunisation for all children in Africa, no matter who they are or where they live.”
Routine immunisation
Routine immunisation coverage has increased considerably across Africa during the last two decades. The percentage of children in Africa receiving the third dose of the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine (DTP3) – a measure commonly used to evaluate the strength of routine immunisation programmes – has increased from approximately 57 per cent in 2000 to 77 per cent in 2015. Yet one in five children across the continent still lack access to all available vaccines, leaving them vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases.
There are several significant barriers to vaccine access, including weak supply chains and insufficient data to identify coverage gaps at the local level. The continent will also soon face a historic financing transition. As Africa nears polio eradication, critical funding for immunisation through the polio eradication programme is expected to decrease.
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Additionally, more countries in Africa are approaching middle-income status, which means that they will begin transitioning away from the funding of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
The ADI road map identifies strategies for confronting these challenges early to ensure immunisation efforts are uninterrupted.
Country ownership
The WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Dr Mahmoud M. Fikri, noted that “country ownership is more important than ever before to ensure that we sustain and build on the hard-fought gains we have made. By making continued political, financial and technical investments now, Africa can achieve a generation free from vaccine-preventable diseases.”
He said expanding access to immunisation would have tremendous positive effects for families, communities and entire countries as every US$1 spent on childhood immunisation in Africa returns US$41 in economic benefits.
“Leaders at all levels of government have identified universal access to immunisation as an urgent priority and an achievable goal,” said Ms Amira Elfadil Mohamed Elfadil, Commissioner for Social Affairs of the AU Commission. “Building on this consensus, member states must now take action to implement their commitments – ultimately, catalysing sustainable development across the continent.”
The declaration
The ADI provides concrete commitments – from increasing domestic vaccine financing to addressing supply chain challenges – by which nations can increase access to immunisation and strengthen health systems in line with other existing efforts, particularly the Global Vaccine Action Plan.
It was initially drafted and signed by ministers and other high-level representatives at the Ministerial Conference on Immunisation in Africa in February 2016.