More than 250 actors from different countries on the continent and elsewhere are reflecting in Lomé on the ways and means for a normal and accelerated resumption of the vaccination of children after a slowdown observed due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is within the framework of the annual meeting of the Directors of the Expanded Vaccination Program (EPI) of West Africa which opened on July 11, 2023 in Lomé.
For 4 days, vaccination experts, EPI directors from 17 West African countries will review the progress of vaccination since 2019 and review the plans that have been developed by the countries and the support which are necessary from the technical and financial partners to support the countries. Indeed, the year 2023, at the regional level, has been declared a “year of great catch-up”. “The Covid-19 pandemic has had negative impacts on the health system in general and on the vaccination system. Countries have experienced an increase in children who have never been vaccinated and they have also faced a reduction in vaccination coverage of the vaccine package.
According to the resident representative of the WHO in Togo, Dr Fatoumata Binta Tidiane Diallo, despite all the efforts made, the challenges seem more than persistent in terms of vaccination. “We note with dismay an increase in children who have never received even a single dose of vaccine, and the resurgence of diseases that we thought we had mastered, particularly in the last three years with the arrival of Covid- 19,” she said.
2022 was also marked by epidemics of measles, cholera and other infectious diseases, according to a UNICEF report, while in 2021, 25 million children were deprived of vaccines , two million more than in 2020 and six million more than in 2019. Nearly three quarters of these children are found in the African region. As the decade of the 2030 immunization agenda moves forward, there is an urgent need to address these challenges very quickly to achieve the desired goals. “The aim is, among other things, to significantly reduce the number of unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children from birth; to stop the circulation of wild poliovirus and derivative forms, to stop all outbreaks or recrudescences of vaccine-preventable diseases”, recalled Dr Fatoumata Binta Tidiane Diallo.
To overcome these challenges, she stresses, it is essential, among other things, to strengthen the health system and renew efforts to scale up high-impact interventions; investing in resilient health infrastructure, ensuring the supply of quality vaccine and establishing effective surveillance systems to detect disease outbreaks early.
In addition, discussions will also take place around the announcement by WHO, UNICEF and the GAVI Alliance of the delivery of 18 million doses of the first antimalarial vaccine to 12 African countries by 2025.
The last meeting of EPI managers in Togo dates back to 2014. Indeed, it offers an opportunity to share experiences, document good practices and the challenges that countries face. It is also an opportunity to discuss the major issues of the day regarding the global and regional landscape of vaccines and immunization.
Atha Assan