Highlights of 2015 assessment report on immunization
Early November this
year, I participated in a telephone meeting where a brief on the 2015
assessment report of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization
(SAGE) was shared. At that time the report wasn’t publically available. The
meeting had officials from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, WHO, UNICEF,
GAVI Vaccine Alliance and many other international and regional players for
Immunization.
Dr Kamel Senoucia, senior WHO official on behalf of the Decade of Vaccine (DoV)Glocal Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) Secretariat provided quick highlight of the report to the telephone meeting audience.
Now that the report is publically available it is imperative that I share key issues mentioned to provide useful information to all the great people working to ensure immunization succeeds, bearing in mind Africa which has the highest burden of childhood killer diseases.
To start with, the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) has set ambitious goals, to save thousands of lives through vaccination till 2020. Progress has been made in some countries, including those where large numbers of unimmunized children live.
The report focuses on two major problems that are holding back progress as follows;
1. The elimination strategies for maternal and neonatal tetanus, and for measles and rubella, and their implementation, are in urgent need of change and adequate resourcing.
2. The monitoring and accountability framework for the Global Vaccine Action Plan has gaps in its mechanisms for accountability, undermining the translation of the plan’s goals into reality.
In line with these two problems mentioned above, nine recommendations were made to improve accountability to achieve the GVAP goals;
1. Countries have annual plans for immunization consistent with the GVAP and relevant regional vaccine action plans. The ministries of health, finance and other pertinent ministries demonstrate leadership by establishing an annual process for monitoring and accountability at national and subnational levels. Monitoring should be through an independent body, for example the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG). Each country should share, every year, with WHO regional offices, its monitoring report which should include monitoring progress towards achievement of outcomes but also sharing of best practices.
2. Once regional vaccine action plans are finalized (By December 2015), WHO regional offices establish a process of annual progress review through their regional technical advisory groups and report to the respective Regional Committees. The first annual review should take place in the first half of 2016 for countries with annual plans consistent with the GVAP. WHO Regional Committees’ reports should be made available annually to SAGE as part of the global review process.
3. Global, regional and national development partners align their efforts to support countries in strengthening their leadership and accountability frameworks and in implementing their national plans. This should include establishing and/or strengthening partner coordination mechanisms at each level.
4. Decade of Vaccines secretariat agencies report to SAGE in 2016 on their supporting activities conducted in the 10 countries where most of the unvaccinated and under-vaccinated children live. This annual reporting mechanism should include discussion of those reports in regional technical advisory groups.
5. Given poor progress with elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus and the relatively small funding gap to achieve this goal, WHO and UNICEF convene a meeting of global partners and the remaining 21 countries to agree on an action plan, resources and respective responsibilities so that the goal is achieved no later than 2017 and thereafter strategies are in place to sustain elimination in all countries.
Dr Kamel Senoucia, senior WHO official on behalf of the Decade of Vaccine (DoV)Glocal Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) Secretariat provided quick highlight of the report to the telephone meeting audience.
Now that the report is publically available it is imperative that I share key issues mentioned to provide useful information to all the great people working to ensure immunization succeeds, bearing in mind Africa which has the highest burden of childhood killer diseases.
To start with, the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) has set ambitious goals, to save thousands of lives through vaccination till 2020. Progress has been made in some countries, including those where large numbers of unimmunized children live.
The report focuses on two major problems that are holding back progress as follows;
1. The elimination strategies for maternal and neonatal tetanus, and for measles and rubella, and their implementation, are in urgent need of change and adequate resourcing.
2. The monitoring and accountability framework for the Global Vaccine Action Plan has gaps in its mechanisms for accountability, undermining the translation of the plan’s goals into reality.
In line with these two problems mentioned above, nine recommendations were made to improve accountability to achieve the GVAP goals;
1. Countries have annual plans for immunization consistent with the GVAP and relevant regional vaccine action plans. The ministries of health, finance and other pertinent ministries demonstrate leadership by establishing an annual process for monitoring and accountability at national and subnational levels. Monitoring should be through an independent body, for example the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG). Each country should share, every year, with WHO regional offices, its monitoring report which should include monitoring progress towards achievement of outcomes but also sharing of best practices.
2. Once regional vaccine action plans are finalized (By December 2015), WHO regional offices establish a process of annual progress review through their regional technical advisory groups and report to the respective Regional Committees. The first annual review should take place in the first half of 2016 for countries with annual plans consistent with the GVAP. WHO Regional Committees’ reports should be made available annually to SAGE as part of the global review process.
3. Global, regional and national development partners align their efforts to support countries in strengthening their leadership and accountability frameworks and in implementing their national plans. This should include establishing and/or strengthening partner coordination mechanisms at each level.
4. Decade of Vaccines secretariat agencies report to SAGE in 2016 on their supporting activities conducted in the 10 countries where most of the unvaccinated and under-vaccinated children live. This annual reporting mechanism should include discussion of those reports in regional technical advisory groups.
5. Given poor progress with elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus and the relatively small funding gap to achieve this goal, WHO and UNICEF convene a meeting of global partners and the remaining 21 countries to agree on an action plan, resources and respective responsibilities so that the goal is achieved no later than 2017 and thereafter strategies are in place to sustain elimination in all countries.
Read more at http://dailytrust.com.ng/news/health/highlights-of-2015-assessment-report-on-immunization/120872.html#3CDihqzFbEl3Ec2H.99
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