A collection of campaign stories captured and curated by Linksbridge SPC
Featured Stories
After an initial round in July, Pakistan ran a nationwide oral polio vaccination campaign beginning August 13. The effort, which also provided vitamin A supplements, reached more than 32 million children ages 6-59 months in 130 districts. Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme; UNICEF
Afghanistan launched a second round of polio vaccination campaigns covering almost half of the country this month. After months of delay, the country resumed its polio program in July, initially reaching three provinces. UNICEF
India’s Jharkand state ran a mass drug administration drive against lymphatic filariasis from August 10 to 20, targeting 19 million people across 13 high-risk districts with albendazole tablets. Times of India; Ministry of Health (Hindi)
Outbreak Response
To curb an ongoing spread, Sudan will start polio vaccination campaigns at the beginning of September across “several” states, aiming to reach nearly 9 million children under 5 years of age. The country reported its first cVDPV cases in early August and recorded 11 cases last week—all linked to the cVDPV2 strain currently circulating in Chad. UNOCHA; Dabanga; GPEI
Uganda launched a yellow fever vaccination campaign on August 20, targeting 1.6 million people aged 9 months to 60 years in six high-risk districts. Postponed since April, the drive follows an outbreak in Buliisa and four districts in West Nile that claimed four lives last year. WHO
The Democratic Republic of Congo ran an oral cholera vaccination campaign from July 29 to August 2, targeting over a million people across Fizi, Idjwi, Minova, Nundu and Uvira in South Kivu province. The country reported 12,076 cholera cases as of July 2020. Andalou Agency; UNICEF
Cameroon conducted an anti-cholera campaign from August 1 to 14 in the Littoral, South and Southwest regions. The country reported a total of 73 new suspected cases and six new deaths in the South and Centre regions from June 19 to July 2. Ministry of Health; Cameroon Web (French); WHO
Local Campaigns
Initially planned for June, Pakistan’s Balochistan province conducted a six-day anti-tetanus campaign from August 22 to 27 to vaccinate over 518,000 women ages 15-49. This is the third immunization round of the drive. Meanwhile, a similar six-day campaign began in the Chagai district on August 24, targeting 56,000 women. DAWN
Postponed from November last year due to “technical delays,” Somalia launched a three-day drive on August 30 to reach about 400,000 children under 5 with measles and polio vaccines, as well as vitamin A and deworming tablets. The campaign took place at fixed and outreach sites in Banadir. WHO
India launched its biannual national deworming day drive in mid-August, providing albendazole tablets door-to-door to children and adolescents ages 1-19 to prevent soil-transmitted helminths. Ministry of Health