(GIN) Global Immunization News
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Global Immunization News (GIN) Global Immunization News (GIN) May 2019 In this issue News You can click on the article 72nd World Health Assembly Special Report you are interested in and ac- Hayatee Hasan, WHO Headquarters cess it directly! This year’s World Health Assembly was held from 20 News to 28 May 2019 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, • Immunization Agenda 2030 2 Switzerland and was attended by nearly 4000 delegates • Advancing digital health in 2 from WHO’s 194 Member States and partner organiza- Bangladesh through electron- ic immunization registration tions. The general theme of this year’s World Health • The world’s first malaria 3 Assembly (WHA) was "Universal health coverage: leav- vaccine highlighted at ing no-one behind”. #WHA72 The Assembly Hall at the Palais des Nations 3 in Geneva, Switzerland. • Malaria vaccine pilot Key highlights included: launched in Ghana • WHO announced the appointment of four new goodwill ambassadors from the fields of sports, • Over 100 000 people sick 3 with measles in 14 months: politics and community mobilization to promote healthier lives, stronger health workforces and with measles cases at an improved mental health globally. The new ambassadors are: alarming level in the Europe- 1. Alisson Becker, goalkeeper of the Brazilian national and Liverpool football teams; an Region, WHO scales up 2. Dr Natália Loewe Becker, medical doctor and health advocate from Brazil, as WHO response Goodwill Ambassadors for Health Promotion; • WHO adapts ebola vaccina- 4 tion strategy in the Demo- 3. Cynthia Germanotta, President of Born This Way Foundation, which was co-founded cratic Republic of the Congo with her daughter Lady Gaga, as WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Mental Health; and to account for insecurity and 4. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former President of Liberia, as WHO Goodwill Ambassador for community feedback Health Workforce. • SPECIAL FEATURE: Heroes 4 from the field • Primary health care towards universal health coverage resolution was endorsed which urges Member States to take measures to implement the Declaration of Astana and calls on the Upcoming meeting 5-6 WHO Secretariat to increase its support to Member States in this area. • Member States agreed a resolution calling for continued high-level commitments to implement Past meetings / workshops 7-12 and adequately resource multi-sectoral National Action Plans to tackle antimicrobial resistance. • The side event on “Promoting vaccine confidence: enhancing global immunization efforts to Resources 13-14 protect the Health of All generations” held on Tuesday, 21 May was very well attended, clearly indicating that the issue is one of high priority for all countries. Promoting vaccine confidence is Calendar 15 a diverse issue, with solutions that need to be tailored to very local contexts. There was a clear call for WHO to be engaged and to play a leadership role toward developing solutions, meas- urements and best practices. Links 16 • Speakers at the event included EU Commissioner Dr Vytenis Andriukaitis; US Health and Hu- man Services Secretary Alex Azar; Dr Luiz Henrique Mandetta, Minister of Health, Brazil; Dr Theresa Tam, Chief Public Health Officer of Canada; Prof. Dr Alexandru Rafila, Romania, Mem- ber of WHO Executive Board; Dr Seth Berkley CEO of GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance; and Prof. Dr Peter Hotez, Dean of the Baylor College of Medicine National School of Tropical Medicine. The event was moderated by Dr Katherine O'Brien, IVB Director. • Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus joined the event highlighting that "No country can afford to be complacent about immunization." The DG also announced that WHO is co-creating a new strategy for vaccines and immunization, to be presented at the 73rd World Health Assembly in 2020. “WHO is working to ensure vaccines reach more people in more countries than ever before. Vaccination is a right and a shared responsibility,” said Dr Tedros. • Polio Eradication and polio transition sessions at the WHA emphasized the critical importance of essential immunization and vaccine-preventable disease surveillance, not only in countries that are now polio-free but also as a means to achieve polio eradication in Afghanistan and Pa- kistan. For more on the World Health Assembly, visit this website. SUBSCRIBE NOW VIEW PREVIOUS EDITIONS Send an email to [email protected] For previous editions of the GIN, with the following text in the body of the email: visit the GIN archive on the WHO website: subscribe GLOBALIMMUNIZATIONNEWS www.who.int/immunization/gin Global Immunization News (GIN) May 2019 Immunization Agenda 2030 Ebru Ekeman, WHO Headquarters As we approach the end of the Decade of Vaccines and with just a couple of years remaining on the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP 2011-2020), a new Immunization Agenda 2030 is needed for the entire health and development community – one that re- affirms the benefits of vaccines and immunizations for a healthi- er, more secure and prosperous world through their contribu- tions to the achievements of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Sustainable Development (SDG). The strategic priorities and ways and means. An initial attempt to assemble ideas, thoughts and content for an Immunization Agenda 2030 is now available for broad review. It is being shared as a ‘draft zero’ and is offered as a starting point for further co-creation and co-development with immunization specialists, broader health experts, and wider health stakeholders at country, regional and global levels. We welcome your reactions and views on this document by 14 June 2019 either by : • Providing quick feedback via an online survey • Sending written comments to this address or • Posting comments online at this link. This document will continually evolve over the coming months based on you feedback. In addition, several dedicated regional consultations will be organized to ensure the voices of regional and country stakeholders are heard and that a bottom up process in co-developing the Immunization Agenda 2030 is implemented. For any queries on the document or the process for its review, please send an email. Advancing digital health in Bangladesh through electronic immunization registration Catalin Bercaru and Rajendra Bohara, WHO Country Office Bangladesh Electronic immunization registration as a unique pilot project in Bangladesh was im- plemented by WHO and Rajshahi City Corporation. Successful implementation of the online registration will support the city corporation to reach full coverage of immunization for children aged between 0 to 23 months. “We are advancing in implementing digital health solutions to help health workers track down the immunization history of every child and to make sure that no one is left behind.” said Dr Mowla Baksh Chaudhury, EPI Programme Manager, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. WHO supported the development of software registration and together with volun- teers provided tablets to health workers. This improved the work of the City Cor- poration to ensure the full registration and vaccination history of all babies less than Tablets with the electronic regis- 23 months old. ters in action The electronic vaccination register aims to reduce immunization drop out by allow- ing health workers to monitor the children’s vaccination history. The system enables health workers to track children in need of vaccines, identify the ones who are delayed and send SMS alerts to parents for the upcoming immunization phases. Over 300 field health workers, paramedics, nurses and medical doctors have been trained to use electronic registrations. “One of the most common reasons for immunization drop out is that parents usually forget when they have to bring their children for the next vaccination. A complete immunization course is essential for being protected against deadly vaccine preventable diseases such as Measles, Pneumonia, Tetanus, Diphtheria etc.” added Dr Bohara. The first vaccination certificates generated by the electronic system upon completion of the immunization schedule Page 2 were distributed during World Immunization Week. The WHO representative, the Mayor and the EPI Programme Manager distributed certificates during the ceremony hosted by the Rajshahi City Corporation. Global Immunization News (GIN) May 2019 The world’s first malaria vaccine highlighted at #WHA72 Kristen Kelleher, WHO Headquarters WHO Director-General Dr Tedros mentioned the recent introduction of the RTS,S malaria vaccine in his opening speech at the World Health Assembly (available on the WHO website and on Twitter), and positive news coverage continues of the vaccine pilot roll out: including a recent editorial in the Lancet as well as an in-depth piece on the vaccine and its potential by BBC Future Now. Caption from the short video telling the See and hear what this means to families: to understand what this historic step for story of Vida and her baby, Lordina. public health means to a mother and her family, a new short video tells the story of Vida and her baby, Lordina, one of the first to receive the RTS,S vaccine in Ghana. Vida says that the added protection against malaria provided by the vaccine will enable her to take care of her family “with more peace of mind.” The WHO Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme, MVIP, invites you to watch the video and share it through your networks and social channels (#malaria, #malariavaccine). Read more about MVIP Malaria vaccine pilot launched in Ghana Hayatee Hasan, WHO Headquarters WHO Ghana welcomed the Ministry of Health’s launch of the world’s first malaria vaccine in a landmark pilot programme. Top health officials, WHO representatives, community leaders, and mothers and children gathered on 30 April 2019 to officially begin the vaccine rollout. The country-led phased vaccine introduction is supported by WHO and national and global health partners. Ghana is one of three African countries in which the vac- cine, known as RTS,S, will be made available to children up to two years of age. Malaria remains one of the world’s leading killers, claiming the life of one Susana and Abigail are first to be vaccinated child every two minutes; most of these deaths are in Africa.