Featured Stories
Sudan started a subnational anti-cholera campaign November 20 in six Gedaref state localities that have recorded cholera cases, including eastern and western Galabat, El Fashaga, and El Quraisha. Aiming to vaccinate 1.5 million people, the campaign took place in 407 fixed sites, 1,758 temporary sites and 210 mobile sites, deploying 7,335 technical staff members. As of November 9, there were at least 2,525 suspected cholera cases and 78 associated deaths across six Sudanese states, per OCHA. Campaigns are also planned in Al Jazirah and Khartoum states. Dabanga Sudan; Al Taghyeer; OCHA
Nicaragua kicked off a nationwide campaign against HPV November 6, targeting 300,000 girls ages 10 to 14. The campaign, taking place at health fairs, schools, health centers and house to house, will administer the first vaccine dose until January 15, with second doses scheduled to follow about six months later. As of November 19, over 154,000 girls had received a dose. Nicaragua is the last country in Central America to introduce HPV into the routine immunization schedule, according to La Prensa. PAHO; La Prensa; JP; MoH
Outbreak Response
Several regions of Nigeria carried out additional anti-polio efforts in November:
- Adamawa state deployed 5,433 health officials November 11 to 14 to vaccinate at least 1 million children under age 5. This was the second of a two-phase effort; the first reached over 1.3 million children.
- Anambra state ran the second phase of a campaign whose initial effort, in September, reached 2.3 million children under age 5 (a 140% coverage rate). Running November 11-14, the new phase was expected to use over 2 million vaccine doses.
Additionally, Warri South in Delta state commenced a four-day effort on November 13. Voice of Nigeria; BNN; Punch (1); The Guardian; Express Healthcare Management; Punch (2)
Pakistan launched a weeklong nationwide polio vaccination campaign November 27, targeting 44 million children under age 5. The vaccine was scheduled to be administered at bus stops and other transit points as well as door to door. Half of the targeted population is in Punjab, while in Sindh, a campaign workforce of more than 80,000 set out to reach over 10 million children. The campaign is targeting 7.4 million children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 2.5 million in Balochistan.
The effort comes on the heels of provincial campaigns that kicked off in late October in three of these provinces. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa—which has recorded 14 incidents of violence against polio teams this year—the five-day effort targeted 1.2 million children in the districts of Peshawar, Khyber and Hangu, registering 16,000 vaccination refusals. The campaign in Sindh reached 2.2 million children, while 780,000 received the vaccine in Balochistan. VOA; Pakistan Today; UrduPoint; PPEP; Samaa
Integrated Campaigns
The Philippines’ Zamboanga peninsula launched a 17-day integrated catch-up campaign on November 13, targeting almost 62,000 children under age 2. Nearly two-thirds of children in the region have not received any immunizations against vaccine-preventable diseases; meanwhile, measles cases in the country have increased almost 300% this year versus last, according to BNN. In Zamboanga, Department of Health teams administered measles, mumps, polio, rubella and tuberculosis jabs along with pentavalent vaccines for diphtheria, flu, hepatitis B, pertussis and tetanus. The campaign took place house to house, in healthcare facilities and via temporary vaccination posts in high-traffic areas. Manila Bulletin; BNN
Local Campaigns
Nigeria’s Kaduna state ran an anti-yellow fever effort October 30-November 10 in all 23 LGAs, seeking to vaccinate over 10 million people ages 9 months to 44 years. The campaign—conducted in health facilities, worship centers, motor parks, markets and schools—aimed to reach 85% of the state’s population. Nigeria Standard
Thailand launched a national anti-HPV campaign on November 8, hoping to reach women ages 11 to 20 with 1 million vaccine doses. The effort is taking place in schools for students ages 11 to 18 and via walk-in services for others. In Bangkok, the first round seeks to vaccinate 90,000 women. Thailand has seen over 13,000 cases of cervical cancer this year, per BNN. BNN (1); BNN (2)
Peru started a subnational vaccination drive against polio at the end of October, targeting more than 5,000 children under age 5 in the Puno region. The campaign—slated to end by December—enrolled over 70 vaccination teams to administer doses house to house and in markets, parks, plazas, malls and other public spaces. Around 130,000 children under age 5 in the country haven’t received polio doses. Peru launched a nationwide effort to tackle measles and polio in July. Diario Viral; Government of Peru