Featured Stories
Ghana launched the world’s first community-based MDA campaign using moxidectin against onchocerciasis on January 27, targeting adults and children ages 4 and above in the Twifo Atti Morkwa district. Known as the “Momentum Project,” the initiative involved community volunteers who led engagement efforts and distributed the anthelmintic door to door. The first shipment of over 250,000 doses arrived in Ghana in December, and Ghana’s health service plans to distribute the medication to the community every six months over the next three years. MDGH (1); MDGH (2)
Burkina Faso ran a nationwide typhoid fever vaccination campaign January 23-29, targeting more than 10 million children ages 9 months to 14 years with typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV). The campaign, which included fixed and outreach vaccination sites, marked the addition of TCV to Burkina Faso’s routine childhood immunization schedule, making it the first Francophone African country to take the step. Burkina 24; PATH
The Central African Republic kicked off an mpox vaccination campaign on January 18, using the first 2,300 doses from its 12,300-dose allocation. Countries in the region reported at least 5,842 cases in the first two weeks of 2025, along with 38 deaths. CIDRAP; Africa CDC
Spotlight on Cholera Outbreak Response
South Sudan launched multiple oral cholera vaccination campaigns on January 6, prioritizing children ages 1 and older and mothers in four high-risk counties—Juba, Malakal, Renk and Rubkona. Supported by approximately 4 million vaccine doses, the exercises had administered around 910,000 doses by January 22. Rubkona aimed to vaccinate over 300,000 people; the county accounted for 47% of the 21,000 suspected and confirmed cholera cases WHO had recorded by mid-January. Aiming to inoculate more than 80% of the population, the campaigns faced significant challenges, including limited access to areas hit hardest by cholera outbreaks due to flooding and security concerns. WHO; VOA; Vax-Before-Travel; Xinhua
Malawi launched an oral cholera vaccination campaign on January 16, aiming to administer 720,000 OCV doses January 20-24 across four districts: Balaka, Chitipa, Karonga and Machinga. As of mid-January, the country’s Presidential Task Force on Cholera had reported 14 cholera deaths since September 2024. Xinhua; VOA; WHO (1); WHO (2)
Zambia kicked off a cholera outbreak response campaign on January 7, aiming to vaccinate 191,153 people ages 1 and above in Nakonde district using 200,000 vaccine doses. Cholera resurfaced in the district in December, with 17 reported cases as of early January. Xinhua
Syria conducted an oral cholera vaccination campaign December 28-January 7, targeting over 25,000 people in Al-Hol camp; nearly half of those vaccinated were children ages 5 to 15. Supported by 40 trained vaccinators and 15 logistical staff, the effort prioritized high-risk sectors of the camp where the outbreak was most severe. Fifty health committee members conducted outreach, directly engaging over 16,000 people through tent-to-tent visits and group discussions while directing thousands more to vaccination points. Every vaccine dose in the campaign was used. WHO
Spotlight on Polio
Afghanistan ran a polio vaccination campaign January 27-29, targeting over 6 million children under age 5 across 16 of the country’s 34 provinces (Badghis, Baghlan, Ghazni, Helmand, Herat, Kabul, Kandahar, Khost, Kunar, Laghman, Nangarhar, Nuristan, Paktia, Paktika, Uruzgan and Zabul). According to WHO data cited by Afghanistan International, the country reported 25 polio cases in 2024. Polio Free Afghanistan; Afghanistan International; Xinhua
Iran carried out a polio vaccination campaign January 4-18, targeting about 800,000 children under 5 (both Iranian residents and foreign nationals) in its southeastern provinces. Conducted in two phases by medical universities in Ahvaz, Bam, Bushehr, Hormozgan, Iranshahr, Jiroft, Kerman, Yazd, Zabol and Zahedan, the campaign successfully concluded its first phase on January 6. Tehran Times
Nigeria ran a polio outbreak response campaign January 18-22, targeting children under 5 with oral drops in 57 councils across Lagos. The exercise mobilized vaccination teams to reach eligible children at homes, schools, churches, mosques, gated estates and other public places. Premium Times; The Guardian
Local Campaigns
Ghana ran the second round of an MDA campaign against onchocerciasis January 27-February 8, aiming to reach 85% of the target population in 79 endemic districts nationwide, excluding children under 5 and pregnant women, among others. The push, which primarily used ivermectin, mobilized over 15,200 volunteers and health workers. GNA