EYE Strategy June Newsletter
 Image: Still from our film ‘Yellow fever: a community's story' June EYE Strategy NewsletterEYE on yellow fever podcastWe are coming to close to the end of the second series of the podcast, in which we have focused on stories from the field. The podcast has made top 10 on the Life Sciences podcast charts around the world, and we are delighted to bring you the next two episodes. To catch up on previous episodes, you can listen via our website here.  Episode 14: Inside a yellow fever laboratory What is the critical diagnostic information that public health officials use to assess whether suspected yellow fever cases can officially be declared an outbreak? We visit a research centre in Senegal that is at the heart of yellow fever diagnostics. The Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD) is one of three regional reference laboratories for yellow fever in Africa that tests samples sent from across the continent. Dr Gamou Fall, Head of IP Dakar's yellow fever Regional Reference Laboratory (RRL), takes us through that painstaking process.  Episode 15: Monkeys and yellow fever What part do non-human primates, like monkeys and apes, play in the transmission of yellow fever? This episode focuses on monitoring and response work in the rainforests of Argentina, where yellow fever is present among howler monkeys - and can be passed on to humans. Dr María Morales and Dr Silvina Goenaga are from Argentina’s Institute for Human Viral Diseases (INEVH). EYE Strategy mid-term evaluationWe are at the mid-point of the EYE Strategy, which aims to eliminate yellow fever epidemics by 2026. To measure our effectiveness since EYE’s inception in 2017 and recommend ways forward to improve performance and implementation, an external consultancy team named Euro Health Group (EHG), has been appointed to conduct this evaluation. EHG was appointed through a competitive bidding process. EHG has extensive experience in evaluating health and development projects worldwide. The indicative timeframe for the evaluation is May to October 2022. For further information visit http://www.ehg.dk/. EYE partners and stakeholders from countries and regions will participate in the evaluation. Outreach is anticipated to include country-case studies; key informant interviews; stakeholder surveys, and extensive review of available documentation. The final report will be finalized by October 2022. Country updatesReactive vaccination campaigns (RVCs) In response to recent outbreaks, a number of RVCs have either taken place or are planned in 2022. All RVCs have been approved by the International Coordinating Group for Vaccine Provision (ICG) with support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. In Cameroon, an RVC was conducted from 30th May to 6th June 2022 targeting 606,946 people with approximately 90% coverage. There are ongoing discussions with the Cameroon Ministry of Health to assess and plan for other areas of lower immunity. Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR) have confirmed that their RVCs will take place in July 2022. The campaigns will aim to protect close to 1.4 million people. Kenya is still in the process of microplanning its campaigns and also plans to implement in late July. This activity is anticipated to protect more than 718,633 people in six sub-counties in Garissa and Isiolo counties.  Have you seen our film ‘Yellow fever: a community's story - a film by the EYE Strategy’? Click on the image to see how Muhammed’s life has been affected by yellow fever, and the steps he has taken to protect his children. You can also view with subtitles in French, Portuguese, and Arabic. Preventive mass vaccination campaigns (PMVCs) Congo The Congo government is planning the integration of the yellow fever PMVCs with a nation-wide measles and rubella immunization campaign. This integration will be an opportunity to leverage the yellow fever PMVC to support the response to measles in the country. Activities were subject to a short delay and are now expected to be initiated in July. These campaigns will cover all departments except Pointe Noire (since it was already protected in 2018). Further information will be provided in due course. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) The yellow fever PMVCs in Maniema, Sankuru, and South Kivu are moving forward with micro-planning, with implementation planned in September. Further yellow fever 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. Correction: previous issues of the EYE newsletter have stated the number of protected people will be 15 million. The correct figure is 28 million people. Sudan The implementation of the yellow fever catch-up campaigns in the remaining ten states of Sudan is scheduled for 2022, pending confirmation of the dates from the Sudan Ministry of Health. Uganda Uganda is progressing with plans to introduce yellow fever vaccination into the routine immunization (RI) programme, which is now planned to commence in August. Following the RI introduction, the country plans to launch its first phase of a multi-year preventive mass vaccination campaign (PMVC) towards the end of this year. This will mark a significant step towards protecting the population against yellow fever. Nigeria Further yellow fever vaccination campaigns are planned in Nigeria in the states of Ogun and Gombe in June 2022. These campaigns targeted 8.8 million people for protection. Additional PMVCs will be implemented in the latter part of 2022 in the states of Kano, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Borno and Enugu. Yellow fever outbreak toolbox  We have launched a yellow fever outbreak toolbox, bringing together training resources, surveillance standards, response tools and resources, and a wealth of other useful information for work on yellow fever activities. Click here to access the toolbox. Contact
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