(GIN) Global Immunization News
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Global Immunization News (GIN) April 2014 In this issue News NEW! You can now click on the article you are interested in and World Immunization Week 2014: Know, check, protect access it directly! Hayatee Hasan, WHO HQ News World Immunization Week, which Vaccination Week in the Americas 2 takes place in the last week of April 2014 every year, is an opportunity to re- Western Pacific Region Celebrates 2 mind families and communities how Regional Immunization Week 2014 effective vaccines can be, and to en- Measles and Rubella Preparedness for 3 courage people to take action to en- the World Cup Georgia achieves first-year target of 3 sure that more children, and increas- rotavirus vaccination ingly people in other age groups, are immunized against deadly and debilitating diseases. Paraguay and the Americas against 4 Measles and Rubella The World Immunization Week campaign website in the six official languages is now live. Oral Cholera Vaccine stockpile cam- 5 An online, multilingual toolbox which allows campaign supporters to build their own post- paign amongst Internally Displaced ers, choosing from different visuals is also available. Help us spread the word by choosing People (IDPs) in South Sudan 5 What works? What drives routine a poster from our online, multilingual toolbox. Print, post in your office, school, or health- immunization performance in Africa? care centre, and share on social media to make this year’s campaign truly global. Summary of the WHO Strategic Group 6 of Experts (SAGE) April 2014 meeting A 30-second public service announcement (PSA) is now online and we encourage cam- 6 WHO Strategic Advisory Group of paign supporters to share it on social media. A “What you need to know about measles” Experts approves 2 dose schedule for HPV vaccine fact file is also available. One way in which we are working with partners to help this hap- Mid-Term Review for the GAVI- 7 pen is by encouraging use of new mobile and Internet technologies. A number of coun- Graduation Process in Honduras tries are now delivering information about vaccination directly to people’s mobile phones Meetings / workshops and social media accounts. Getting reliable information to those who need it is key to increasing access, and to helping countries implement the Global Vaccine Action Plan Training of trainers workshop for Rota- 8 virus vaccine introduction and EPI (GVAP) ― endorsed by the World Health Assembly in May 2012. The Action Plan aims programme performance evaluation, to prevent millions of deaths by 2020 through more equitable access to existing vaccines Angola for people in all communities. WHO European Region Immunization 9 Programme Managers Meeting Let us and others know how you will be celebrating the Week by registering your event Peer-review of the WHO-UNICEF 10 Joint Reporting Forms (JRF) and of and activities. GAVI Annual Progress Reports (APR) from Central African Countries Join in the conversation about World Immunization Week on Twitter #RUuptodate and Seminar on Measles & Rubella for non- 11 Facebook. health professionals Second Meeting of the Network for 12 Evaluation of Influenza Vaccines in Latin America and the Caribbean (REVELAC- Global Immunization News (GIN) i ) Meeting of Measles and Rubella Labora- 13 tory Network for the Americas Region Survey Last month, with the Global Immunization Newsletter (GIN), we conducted a short sur- 14- Resources vey to gather your feedback and help us continue to improve the GIN to meet your needs 16 and interests. In order to allow more time to those who have not yet have the opportuni- 17- ty to contribute, we are extending the deadline for you to submit your response for an- Calendar 18 other month. Your responses to this short survey are anonymous and will be aggregated to those of Links 19 others to give us an insight into the preferences of our readers so we can tailor this news- letter to meet your needs. We value your input and thank you in advance for contrib- uting. Please find the survey here. SUBSCRIBE NOW VIEW PREVIOUS EDITIONS Send an email to [email protected] For previous edition 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) April 2014 Vaccination Week in the Americas 2014 Hannah Kurtis, Alba Maria Ropero and Liz Thrush, PAHO This week the countries and territories of the Americas are celebrating the 12th Vac- cination Week in the Americas (VWA) with the regional slogan: “Vaccination: Your best shot.” This slogan was chosen to encourage people to protect themselves and the Region against the importation of polio, measles, and other vaccine-preventable diseases, in the context of the mass sports gathering, where people from all over the world will come to the Region. To kick-off VWA, the regional launch was held in Montevideo, Uruguay on 26 April 2014 with the participation of the PAHO Director, the Minister of Health of Uruguay, and key partners such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States, Food and Agriculture Organization, GAVI, Organization of American States, UNICEF, the United Nations, the United Nations Population Fund, and UN Women. Additional launching celebrations were also held throughout the Region at VWA Poster – Vaccination: local, national, and international levels. Your Best Shot! During this year’s Vaccination Week in the Americas, thousands of health workers are vaccinating more than 63 million people of all ages, including those living in remote, border, and urban fringe areas, indigenous populations, and other at-risk groups against a wide range of diseases such as poliomyelitis, rubella, congenital rubella syn- drome, measles, diphtheria, mumps, whooping cough, neonatal tetanus, influenza, yellow fever, diarrhoea caused by rotavirus, bacterial pneumonia, and human papilloma virus, among others. Additionally, at least 18 countries and territories are integrating other preventative health interventions into vac- cination campaigns. Some examples of these activities include deworming, vitamin A supplementation, chronic disease and obesity screening, and education on breastfeeding. Visit the website to view more information and campaign materials. Western Pacific Region Celebrates Regional Immunization Week 2014 Sergey Diorditsa, Shafiqul Hossain, and Eric Wiesen, WHO, Western Pacific Regional Office The Region has been participating in and celebrating World Immun- ization Week since 2011. This year, the Western Pacific Region (WPR) adopted the theme of preventing liver cancer through hepati- tis B vaccination with the slogan: "Stop hepatitis B and liver cancer. Vaccinate at birth." The theme was chosen to capitalize on the mo- mentum of hepatitis B control including the achievement of the 2012 milestone of less than 2% hepatitis B prevalence among five-year-old children, and the verification of 11 countries as having reached the goal of less than 1% prevalence among children. Dr Shin Young-soo, WHO Regional Director A total of 35 out of 37 countries and areas planned to participate and for the Western Pacific and Dr Sergey celebrate the Immunization Week 2014 and shared the list of activi- Diorditsa, EPI Team Leader at the launching ceremony. Credit WHO/WPRO. ties. A variety of activities are planned during Immunization Week including national and local launching ceremonies; educational pro- grammes for health workers, parents and child care givers; awareness campaigns; advocacy; mass communication; vaccination session/campaign; training/workshop; and publicity in media. Dr Shin Young-soo, Regional Director for WHO Western Pacific Region lead the launching ceremony of Regional Immunization Week on 21 April 2014 on the office premises with a follow up session related to the theme "Preventing hepatitis B infection and liver cancer: a journey of discovery" organized on 22 April 2014. Page 2 Global Immunization News (GIN) April 2014 Measles and Rubella Preparedness for the World Cup Pamela Bravo and Liz Thrush, PAHO The 2014 FIFA Football (Soccer) World Cup, which will be cel- ebrated in Brazil this year, is just around the corner (12-13 June 2014), and given that measles and rubella viruses are still circu- lating in other regions of the world, the Americas is at risk of virus importations, i.e. travelers potentially bringing the measles Measles and rubella health alert or rubella virus to the Region. poster (Health Alert Poster – Measles and Rubella). To this end, countries in the Americas - particularly those bor- dering with Brazil and whose national soccer teams will be participating in the World Cup – are taking measures to protect themselves from such importations. Nine countries will be holding Infographic – measles and rubella vaccination campaigns during Vaccination Week in the Americas and special The Americas efforts are being made to strengthen country surveillance systems so that no suspect measles and/ vs. Measles and or rubella cases will be missed. Rubella (Infographic – PAHO has created promotional materials which include digital messages, posters, flyers, in- The Americas fographics, and a video to increase awareness and preparedness among travelers. The messages vs. Measles and were designed to target travelers who will attend the World Cup and also health care workers Rubella). and physicians so that they too will be aware of the risks and advise patients on timely vaccination before travel. These materials are being promoted via social media and some countries are part- nering with airports, airlines, and the tourist sector to further disseminate these messages. PAHO/WHO encourages travelers attending the World Cup to be vaccinated against measles and rubella at least two weeks prior to departure. Georgia achieves first-year target of rotavirus vaccination Liudmila Mosina, WHO Regional Office for Europe According to a recent post-introduction evaluation conducted by the health min- istry at the end of March 2014, the introduction of rotavirus vaccine in Georgia’s national immunization programme has gone smoothly.