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The Regional Verification Commission (RVC) for Measles and Rubella Elimination in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) declared that measles and rubella have been eliminated in Bahran, Iran, Oman and Egypt.
RVC hosted the 4th regional meeting on 1 - 3 November 2022.
The meeting had three objectives, mainly focused around reviewing:
- The progress reports on elimination status of measles and rubella for countries already verified by the RVC (Bahrain, Iran, and Oman)
- The second version of the primary verification report on elimination status of measles and rubella in Egypt
- The status of measles and rubella elimination in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Meeting participants included the National Verification Committees (NVCs), representatives of respective national immunisation programmes, the Director of department of communicable disease and IVP unit at EMRO, and WHO headquarters.
Based on follow-up discussions with the NVC and country teams, the RVC members reached the consensus on elimination status of the following countries:
- Bahrain, Iran, and Oman sustained their elimination status for measles and rubella for the period of 2018 – 2020;
- Egypt interrupted endemic transmission of measles and rubella virus and accordingly verified that measles and rubella had been eliminated from the country for the period 2018 – 2021.
The RVC members congratulated the four countries and IVP Secretariat for the remarkable achievements demonstrated by the evidence, especially the as two most-populated countries in the region (Egypt and Iran) also faced the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, and encouraged to all states maintain the status of measles and rubella elimination.
The objective of the workshop, held between 3 - 7 November 2022, was to build Nepal's capacity in assessing causality of adverse events following immunization (AEFI) based on WHO’s revised methodology and manage related preparedness and response communications. The technical sessions included:
- presentations on basic AEFI concepts,
- global AEFI safety surveillance status and progress in in the South-East Asia Region (regarding routine immunization and COVID-19 vaccines),
- AEFI detecting and reporting,
- immunology of vaccination,
- methods of AEFI monitoring and investigation, also in in clusters,
- analysis of vaccine safety data,
- overview of causality assessment,verbal autopsy as part of case investigation,
- demo of online causality assessment software,
- challenges in and follow up of causality assessment,
- approach to death/AEFI,
- vaccine safety communication,
- risk communication and media handling,
- AEFI management including anaphylaxis,
- ISRR management,
- vaccine safety monitoring in pregnancy,
- how AEFI data is processed,
- and Demo vigilise (AEFI data analysis).
As a follow-up of this training, Nepal’s national AEFI guidelines will be updated in accordance to recent global guidance (Immunization Agenda 2030, GVSB 2.0). Focus will be placed on moving from minimal capacity to maturity level concepts, streamlining the workflow of AEFI surveillance in Nepal, incorporating additional experts in the national AEFI investigation committee meeting and enhancing the engagement of the Department of Drug Administration in vaccine safety surveillance and relevant responses. Using Vigibase to contribute to global vaccine safety surveillance via global data sharing is also being prioritized.
The formation of provincial and district level AEFI investigation teams and conduction of provincial level AEFI workshops for capacity building in AEFI reporting, investigation and supporting AEFI committee for causality assessment were emphasized in the workshop.
The workshop was facilitated by international and national experts on vaccine safety. Meeting participants represented over 60 participants individuals from throughout the country from Ministry of Health and Population, pediatricians /physicians from federal and provincial hospitals, medical colleges and Surveillance Medical Officers from WHO.
Photo: AEFI surveillance workshop Nepal November 2022, credit: WHO Nepal
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First session of this webinar series:
Session 1: The Critical Role of Health Supply Workforce in Driving Immunization and Health Outcomes
3 Nov 2022 - 3pm CET
Register here: https://who.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_69txDz66SDK8t29uXxLFmg