A collection of campaign stories captured and curated by Linksbridge SPC
Featured Stories
WHO warned this month that cuts to the U.K.’s aid budget will jeopardize mass drug administration (MDA) campaigns in 19 countries (see this interactive dashboard showing the target number of MDA treatments by disease per country). The withdrawal of funds to Britain’s flagship NTDs program, ASCEND, will likely lead to the expiry and incineration of about 280 million tablets. WHO
Spotlight on Covid-19 Campaigns
Early successes in the rollout of Covid-19 vaccination campaigns in countries such as Angola, Chile, and Eswatini include comprehensive campaign planning, supply of vaccines through COVAX, and phased prioritization of target groups. Angola and Eswatini are proactively monitoring the news to combat vaccine misinformation and prioritized early training of vaccinators, while Chile is relying on its historically strong campaign infrastructure to effectively vaccinate its population over a unique geographical terrain. WHO (Angola); Vox (Chile); WHO (Eswatini)
Conflict-prone countries like Yemen face unique challenges in rolling out their Covid-19 vaccine campaigns due to security and logistical issues. In Yemen, vaccine supply and delivery are often hindered by the need to broker separate agreements with different governing authorities and travel along unsafe routes near front lines. Vaccination reluctance is another significant challenge, with the war-weary Yemeni people exhibiting “distrust of the authorities and the outside world.” SWI
India’s Jharkhand state will treat children ages 5-10 with iron and folic acid (IFA) tablets in an effort to treat anemia and strengthen their immune systems. Jharkhand has a significant population of children with anemia, who, according to researchers, might experience severe symptoms of Covid-19 if they get the disease. The anemia campaign aims to distribute 27.6 million tablets through community health centers across 24 districts and will run alongside Jharkhand’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign. The Pioneer
Outbreak Response
Pakistan completed a subnational polio vaccination campaign June 7-11, reaching over 33 million children. More than 225,000 health workers administered vaccines in 124 districts of the country, including all four provinces, Azad Jammu Kashmir region, and Islamabad. Pakistan NEOC
Afghanistan ran the country’s third national polio immunization campaign June 14-17, targeting approximately 9.9 million children under age 5 with polio vaccines and albendazole deworming tablets. The campaign was suspended in the east region following multiple attacks on June 15 that killed five members of vaccination teams in Nangarhar province. WHO; U.N.
In response to an ongoing outbreak, Tajikistan reached over 1.2 million children under age 6 with novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) drops in the first round of a supplementation immunization campaign May 31-June 5. The campaign reached 99% of the children targeted. WHO
Local Campaigns
In a continued effort to introduce typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) as part of routine immunization, Pakistan ran the second phase of its anti-typhoid catch-up campaign June 14-26 in 24 districts of Punjab province, aiming to reach more than 6.6 million children ages 9 months to 15 years. WHO; The Nation
Kenya is rolling out a nationwide measles-rubella vaccination campaign targeting 3.5 million children ages 9-59 months in 22 high-risk counties June 25-July 5. The campaign will involve more than 16,000 health workers, who will administer the vaccines through 5,061 vaccination posts set up in public places including markets, schools, churches, mosques, and “other social places,” as well as through mobile vaccination teams. Kenya News Agency; Gavi
Kenya held the second phase of its polio vaccination campaign June 19-23, targeting 3.4 million children under age 5 across numerous counties: Garissa (249,391), Mandera (255,885), Isiolo (51,206), Wajir (180,714), Kitui (175,425), Tana River (85,020), Lamu (25,104), Machakos (233,770), Kiambu (330,465), Kilifi (327,338), Kajiado (234,197), Nairobi (965,243), and Mombasa (323,620). The Star
Ethiopia began a campaign to administer oral anti-cholera vaccines to 2 million residents age 1 and above in the country’s Tigray region on June 10. The drive covers 13 priority districts and include measures to improve water, sanitation, and hygiene, such as provision of water purification tablets and handwashing soaps. WHO
India held several polio campaigns at the end of June, targeting children age 5 and under. Punjab and Haryana states launched three-day subnational immunization day (SNID) drives on June 27. Punjab’s campaign targeted over 500,000 children from migratory populations across the state; the vaccines were administered by 4,180 house-to-house teams, 500 mobile teams, and 37 transit teams. The campaign in Haryana targeted over 800,000 children, deploying 4,500 health teams door-to-door to administer the vaccines. The Tribune; Outlook
Tanzania’s Zanzibar islands (Pemba and Unguja) will launch two five-day cholera vaccination campaigns targeting 327,000 people. The first phase will run July 3-7, and the second phase is scheduled for July 31-August 4. All Africa
South Sudan recently completed a preemptive yellow fever vaccination drive in Central Equatoria state’s Morobo, Lainya, and Yei River counties after yellow fever was confirmed in neighboring Kajo-Keji in 2020. During the eight-day campaign, 55,640 people ages 9 months to 60 years (98.6% of the target population) received the vaccine. WHO
Zambia launched the first round of an oral cholera vaccine (OCV) campaign in the rural district of Ngabwe on June 4, targeting 21,000 people. Since January 2021, five of the 11 cholera hotspots identified across the country have received two rounds of OCV, and one has conducted the first round. The campaign aims to vaccinate 85% of the people living in these hotspots. WHO
Nutrition International announced June 1 that it will lead vitamin A supplementation (VAS) catch-up efforts in some of Africa’s highest-need countries where VAS has been disrupted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The $23.7 million, eighteen-month emergency campaign (with funding from the Canadian government) aims to reach up to 35 million children under age 5 with two high-dose vitamin A supplements given four to six months apart. No campaign start date was provided. Nutrition International