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Overall, authorities and stakeholders had a satisfactory assessment of the collaborative planning process. Collective and consensus-oriented decision-making regarding the integrated vaccination campaign proved successful, and communities, local, regional, and national authorities supported the integration of MenA-MEAS2 campaigns. The involvement of community actors and consideration of their perspectives improved local acceptability of the integrated campaign.
View the video on the right to see interviews with district and community leaders, assessing the advantages of an integrated campaign. Voir la vidéo en français
Scroll down the page for the key findings and challenges.
Ultimately, the COVID-19 pandemic and an Ebola epidemic postponed the introduction of MenAfrivac into the routine EPI and consequently, delayed the occurrence of the integrated campaign. Government priorities shifted to epidemic response. Other challenges emerged during the planning process, and mitigation strategies were identified.
There is a need to prioritize fully or partially integrated campaigns in the most affected areas of the country, even during epidemics of other diseases. Decentralization of decision-making to regional and district levels would enable high-risk areas to implement integrated campaigns more efficiently, even when national priorities shift.
Vaccinators and communities must be engaged to build buy-in and achieve high coverage. The opportunity to express concerns and ideas should be given to these groups during the pre-planning process. Vaccinators should be guaranteed timely remuneration, sufficient training, and manageable workloads. Community sensitization should take place to mitigate fears of and manage potential adverse events.