EYE Strategy September Newsletter
 Image: Chad laboratory staff together for training at Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Référence National (CHURN) de N’djaména September EYE Strategy NewsletterREGISTER NOW  Registrations are now open for this year’s EYE Annual Partners’ Meeting. Please use this link to register. The meeting will take place online on 29th and 30th November 2022, between 3pm and 6pm Central European time. We are bringing together key stakeholders from across the partnership to discuss the achievements and challenges of the past year, as well as the implications of the mid-term evaluation. The mid-term evaluation has assessed how well the Strategy has been implemented since its inception in 2016 and outlines recommendations for how best to achieve our goals of eliminating yellow fever (YF) epidemics by 2026. A full agenda is to follow. Country updates  Image: Chad meeting at the Ministry of Health with the Director General of Pharmacy, Drugs and Laboratories Yellow fever (YF) Incident Management Support Team (IMST) - West and Central AfricaThe multi-country outbreak in West and Central Africa is ongoing. The YF IMST, which has been in place since December 2021, has now been extended until December 2022. This allows for transition planning between IMST headquarters in Ouagadougou and the countries affected, now that response operations have identified and targeted vulnerable populations for vaccination. The EYE Risk Analysis working group (RAWG) is continuing to support countries with their risk analyses, which form part of their applications for the implementation of campaigns to achieve nationwide coverage. Since September, the RAWG has been engaged with Chad and Niger to support tailored sub-national risk analyses. Reactive vaccination campaigns (RVCs) All RVCs are approved by the International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision (ICG) with support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Central African Republic (CAR) CAR has been experiencing a YF outbreak since late 2021, with a total of 20 confirmed cases. The date of onset of the most recent confirmed case is 14th March 2022. (There are several delays to recent laboratory results). The country was approved by the ICG for a response in March 2022 which would protect approximately 475,000 people in three districts: Batangafo-Kabo, Haut Mbombou and Nangha-Boguila. As part of the outbreak response, a first YF RVC was launched on 13th July 2022 and was completed in September. Delays were due to logistical and security constraints. Subsequently, there were additional confirmed cases reported in Bambari and Kembe Satema. This led to a second request, approved by the ICG on 25th July for response in these two additional districts, which is aiming to protect around 345,000 people. Dates of implementation are yet to be confirmed, but are expected to take place in October. Preventive mass vaccination campaigns (PMVCs) Uganda Uganda concluded the training of its district and national-level trainers last month, and the introduction of the YF vaccine into its routine immunization (RI) programme began in October 2022. This is a great achievement for the EYE Strategy, as Uganda is the second of four countries recommended in the 2017 Strategy to roll-out vaccination nationwide. A multi-year PMVC is also scheduled to begin as early as November 2022 and is due to run for over 3 years. This will mark a significant step towards protecting the population against the disease. The aim is to target 12 million people in the 2022 phase of the campaign. Chad Chad has submitted an application to Gavi for phased YF PMVCs in 2023 and 2024, which aim to target over 16.5 million people and achieve nationwide protection. The country also proposes to realize efficiencies by linking these PMVCs with measles campaigns. Chad's efforts to rapidly come together for a workshop in August to finalize and submit this application are appreciated. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) The YF PMVCs in Maniema, Sankuru, and South Kivu are planned to initiate this month. Further YF PMVCs are planned in Lomami, Kasai, East Kasai and Central Kasai for early 2023. Overall, the campaigns will aim to protect around 28 million people. Nigeria Nigeria has begun to implement its 2022 integrated vaccination campaigns against YF, measles, meningitis, and maternal and neonatal tetanus. Activities in Ogun and Gombe states were completed in June; Borno, Kano, Enugu, and Adamawa are due to commence towards the end of October 2022, and Bayelsa and Adamawa states will be implemented before the end of the year. Training photo gallery  Image: Ghana group photo with the laboratory staff at National Public Health Laboratory in Korke-Bu, Accra Ghaba
Events International Coordination Group (ICG) Annual Meeting on cholera, ebola, meningitis and yellow fever vaccine provision (invite only) Laboratory Technical Working Group (LTWG) annual meeting (invite only) 6th EYE Annual Partners’ Meeting Regional workshop to strengthen regional reference laboratory’s confirmatory capacities using chimeric virus. Regional combined molecular & serology and data management training workshop for French-speaking African countries Article Extract: Washington, D.C. September 26, 2022 (PAHO) – At the opening of the 30th Pan American Sanitary Conference today, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Carissa F. Etienne acknowledged significant gains in health in the last decade but urged countries to address current challenges, including immunization gaps that have “rolled back nearly three decades of progress on childhood vaccinations in recent years.” “Over the last decade, I’ve seen countries translate the idea of universal health care into practical policies”, the PAHO Director said, citing how local, regional, and national governments are working together to achieve “our shared agenda for health in the Americas and the Sustainable Development goals.” To read the full article click here.
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