EYE Strategy July Newsletter
 Image: YF vaccination campaign in Kenya, July 2022 July EYE Strategy NewsletterWeekly Epidemiological Record (WER)Every year, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) WER publishes its global yellow fever (YF) update which provides an annual epidemiological overview and achievements in YF control from the past year. In 2021, YF outbreaks were identified over a wide geographical area covering 11 countries in Africa, while widespread virus circulation, with occasional spill-over to humans, continued in the Americas. The number of countries that reported confirmed and probable cases in the African region was the highest in >20 years and was classified as a level-2 event in WHO’s internal grading system for health emergencies on 30th November 2021. In the Americas, YF cases were confirmed between June 2021 and June 2022 in settings with low population immunity: Bolivia, Brazil, French Guiana, Peru and Venezuela. To read the review in full, click here.  Distribution of YF cases & outbreaks in Africa in 2021. A version of this image can also be found in the WER. EYE on yellow fever podcast Our final episode of the second podcast series is now released. This episode focuses on the EYE Strategy’s biggest priority, which is the multi-country yellow fever outbreak response in West and Central Africa. A bonus episode on the recent YF outbreak response in Ghana is planned for later in the year. Episode 16: Yellow fever in Africa: A real-time emergency YF presents a persistent threat to under-immunized populations across Africa. Since December 2021 there has been a regional outbreak response coordination led by WHO. The base for this response is Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou. Ministries of Health, WHO country teams and partners are working hard to curb outbreaks across multiple African countries. For this episode, incident manager Dr Ado Mpia Bwaka and vaccination lead Dr Hadiatou Diallo join us from Burkina Faso to share their learnings.  Quote from podcast by Dr Ado Mpia Bwaka To catch up on previous episodes, you can listen via our website here. Country updatesReactive vaccination campaigns (RVCs)  Children holding their YF vaccination cards during the RVC in Kenya, July 2022. Kenya Kenya launched its YF RVC in Isiolo and Garissa counties on 23rd July 2022. The campaign has strengthened its door-to-door efforts to target and protect a larger percentage of the population. This activity aims to protect more than 700,000 people in six sub-counties of Isiolo and Garissa. Chad The second YF RVC implemented in early July has now been completed. It covered areas of outbreak expansion in Moyen Chari, as well as new areas in Guera, Logone Oriental and Tandjile (select districts). This campaign will have protected around 920,000 people. Central African Republic The first YF RVC was launched on 13th July 2022 and is ongoing. It aims to protect approximately 475,000 people. The second ICG request was approved in late July and is due to be implemented in the near future. It aims to protect around 345,000 people in two districts: Kembe Satema and Bambari.  Nigeria vaccinates over 45 million people against yellow fever during the COVID-19 pandemic. New films show the impact of YF outbreaks in Taraba State, Nigeria and the global efforts to eliminate these deadly epidemics by 2026. “I lost my second child to yellow fever. It was a very traumatising experience for my family and I,” explains Muhammed Awal, a father of five from Taraba State. “We rushed the child to hospital when he started showing symptoms of the disease, and he died two to three days after, because his internal organs had been very damaged.” To read the press release in full, click here. Preventive mass vaccination campaigns (PMVCs) Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo’s YF PMVC was launched in early August by Prime Minister, Anatole Collinet Makosso. This nationwide campaign has been integrated with measles and rubella vaccinations, and will cover all departments except Pointe Noire (since it was already protected in 2018). The campaign aims to protect more than 4 million people. Further information on the campaign and presence of YF in the Republic of the Congo, can be found in this press release from the United Nations. Click here for more. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) The YF PMVCs in Maniema, Sankuru, and South Kivu are moving forward with micro-planning, with anticipated implementation in September or October 2022. Further YF PMVCs are planned in Lomami, Kasai, East Kasai and Central Kasai for November 2022. Overall, the campaigns will aim to protect around 28 million people. Uganda Uganda is progressing with plans to introduce YF vaccination into the routine immunization (RI) programme in August, although specific dates are yet to be confirmed. A multi-year PMVC is scheduled to be implemented towards the end of this year. This will mark a significant step towards protecting the population against the disease.  National risk scores for YF high-risk countries The EYE Risk Analysis Working Group (RAWG) has updated the 2022 mid-year national risk scores for all high-risk countries in Africa. The goal of this validated tool is to use a transparent and evidence-informed approach to assess risk. These results served as a key input to the August 2022 vaccine allocation decision-making process for 2023 – 2025. The three categories of risk are endemic (baseline YF activity in the area), disease (epidemic) risk, and vaccination coverage. Key changes in the risk determinants for June 2021 to June 2022 were driven primarily by resurgence of YF cases in 11 high-risk countries. Three countries had a marked increase (>5 positions) in their risk ranks: Kenya, Chad and CAR. A number of steps have been recommended to mitigate against the risks, including finalizing existing plans for vaccination activities; incorporating RI and campaigns in the highest risk countries, and strengthening YF detection to inform timely outbreak response and mitigation measures. Events Gavi application deadlines for 2022 Read more about the Gavi Independent Review Committee here:  Past Urban readiness, preparedness and response webinar For those of you who weren’t able to attend our webinar on the EYE guidelines for urban readiness, preparedness and response in June, please click here for the recording with subtitles in English and French. To contact us with any questions, please email us at  Article: Routine vaccines, extraordinary impact: yellow fever Article by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance on the history of YF and how vaccinations will prevent almost 1 billion deaths by 2026. To read the full article, please click here.  Tell us your news!We would love to showcase the work you are doing on protecting people from yellow fever. To submit your news, stories, photos and videos, please email  To subscribe to this newsletter, click here.      To read the EYE Strategy, click here |
