BURKINA FASO BECOMES FIRST COUNTRY TO INTRODUCE NEW MENINGITIS VACCINE NATIONWIDE 17/12/2010 from Alison Brunier, WHO/HQ On 6 December, Burkina Faso became the first country, following a ceremony in Ouagadougou hosted by the President, Blaise Compaoré, to introduce in a nationwide campaign a new meningitis vaccine which is expected to eliminate meningococcal A epidemics in Africa. Designed specifically to protect against group A meningococcus, which accounts for 80-85% of cases of meningitis in the 25 countries of the African "meningitis belt", the vaccine is priced at less than US$ 0.50 per dose, and cost less than one- tenth of the US$ 500 million usually required to develop and bring a vaccine to market. Developed by the Meningitis Vaccine Project - a partnership between WHO and the international non-profit organization PATH - the new vaccine, MenAfriVac™, provides African health authorities, for the first time, with an affordable, long-term solution that protects even young children against meningitis A. Mali and Niger have also just begun nationwide campaigns with the new vaccine. It is expected that, if the funding gap of US$ 475 million is met, all 25 countries in the meningitis belt will be using the vaccine by 2015. Further information and related audio-visual materials - in English http://www.who.int/immunization/ newsroom/events/menafrivac/en/index.html in French http://www.who.int/immunization/newsroom/ events/menafrivac/fr/index.html Technical Information World Health Organization 17 December 2010 Global Immunization News Global Immunization News Inside this issue: Cold Chain Logistics Taskforce 2 Integration Subgroup & Future Subgroup 2 Polio eradication's ndependent Monitoring Board 2 A new TechNet21 website 3 New Publications 3 AFRICA Recall and destruction of specific batches of yellow fever vaccine from Institut Pasteur, Dakar 4 Quarterly Subregional Working Group 4 AMERICAS Workshop on Vaccination Safety in Cuba 4-5 Second Annual Latin American Open Source Health Informatics Meeting 5 Meeting of the International Ex- pert Committee 5 EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN Inter- Country briefing on 2011 Vaccination Week 6 SOUTH EAST ASIA Rubella and typhoid vaccination meeting, Nepal 8 Nicaragua introduces 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-13) 6 Summary report on Inter- Country Measles meeting 7 Inter- Country Workshop on Sur- veillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases, and Monitoring, Evaluation of National Immuniza- tion programme 7 WESTERN PACIFIC Intercountry Workshop on NITAGs and New Vaccines 8 The tenth TechNet meeting 9 Regional Meetings & Key Events 10 Related links 11 Caption: The WHO Director-General and Dr Tachi Yamada of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with health workers at the launch ceremony in Ouagadougou Credit: WHO/R. Barry
Transcript
BURKINA FASO BECOMES FIRST COUNTRY TO INTRODUCE NEW MENINGITIS VACCINE NATIONWIDE 17/12/2010 from Alison Brunier, WHO/HQ On 6 December, Burkina Faso became the first country, following a ceremony in Ouagadougou hosted by the President, Blaise Compaoré, to introduce in a nationwide campaign a new meningitis vaccine which is expected to eliminate meningococcal A epidemics in Africa. Designed specifically to protect against group A meningococcus, which accounts for 80-85% of cases of meningitis in the 25 countries of the African "meningitis belt", the vaccine is priced at less than US$ 0.50 per dose, and cost less than one-tenth of the US$ 500 million usually required to develop and bring a vaccine to market. Developed by the Meningitis Vaccine Project - a partnership between WHO and the international non-profit organization PATH - the new vaccine, MenAfriVac™, provides African health authorities, for the first time, with an affordable, long-term solution that protects even young children against meningitis A. Mali and Niger have also just begun nationwide campaigns with the new vaccine. It is expected that, if the funding gap of US$ 475 million is met, all 25 countries in the meningitis belt will be using the vaccine by 2015. Further information and related audio-visual materials - in English http://www.who.int/immunization/newsroom/events/menafrivac/en/index.html in French http://www.who.int/immunization/newsroom/events/menafrivac/fr/index.html
Technical Information
World Health Organization
17 December 2010 Global Immunization News
Global Immunization News
Inside this issue: Cold Chain Logistics Taskforce
2
Integration Subgroup & Future Subgroup
2
Polio eradication's ndependent Monitoring Board
2
A new TechNet21 website 3
New Publications 3
AFRICA Recall and destruction of specific batches of yellow fever vaccine from Institut Pasteur, Dakar
4
Quarterly Subregional Working Group
4
AMERICAS Workshop on Vaccination Safety in Cuba
4-5
Second Annual Latin American Open Source Health Informatics Meeting
5
Meeting of the International Ex-pert Committee
5
EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN Inter- Country briefing on 2011 Vaccination Week
6
SOUTH EAST ASIA Rubella and typhoid vaccination meeting, Nepal
Inter- Country Workshop on Sur-veillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases, and Monitoring, Evaluation of National Immuniza-tion programme
7
WESTERN PACIFIC Intercountry Workshop on NITAGs and New Vaccines
8
The tenth TechNet meeting 9
Regional Meetings & Key Events 10
Related links 11
Caption: The WHO Director-General and Dr Tachi Yamada of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with health workers at the launch ceremony in Ouagadougou Credit: WHO/R. Barry
COLD CHAIN LOGISTICS TASKFORCE 17/12/2010 from Kate Bai, UNICEF During the 2010 TechNet Consultation in Kuala Lumpur, the TechNet audience was provided with a presentation of the background and purpose to the Taskforce, the 2007 vision, goals and outcomes for the Taskforce. Today, the goals and outcomes remain relevant, and the work is focused through five Subgroups (Guidance, Integration, Advocacy, Future, Monitoring), with the priority now to complete the CCL Guidance work (See Guidance site). The CCL Taskforce Secretariat also held a one day meeting, which was attended by members of the Taskforce present at the TechNet Consultation. It was agreed that one of the main aims is to share information between agencies to improve efficiency in supporting CCL system strengthening. This function works through monthly calls (first Tuesday at 10am NY time), but the flow of information has remained limited, and there is a need to improve the information sharing through monthly updates, including a clearer delineation of partner agency roles. It was noted that the Future Subgroup included private sector members, and it would be good to open the inter-agency membership for them as well as others without conflict of interest. If you would like to join the CCL Taskforce, please contact Kate Bai at [email protected].
Technical Information
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Global Immunization News
The information contained in this Newsletter de-pends upon your contributions
“Immunizing in the context of global independence”
“Integrating Immunization, other linked health interventions and surveillance in the health systems context”
POLIO ERADICATION'S INDEPENDENT MONITORING BOARD MEETS IN GENEVA 17/12/2010 from Oliver Rosenbauer, WHO/HQ The new polio eradication Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) will convene its inaugural meeting on 21-22 December in Geneva. Comprised of global experts from a variety of fields relevant to the work of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), the IMB was established at the request of the Executive Board and the World Health Assembly to assess progress towards the attainment of a polio-free world. The IMB will convene on a quarterly basis to independently evaluate progress towards each of the major milestones of the GPEI Strategic Plan 2010-2012 as 'on track', 'at risk' or 'missed', on the basis of polio epidemiology, poliovirus virology, standard performance indicators and other programme data. If, during its deliberations, the IMB concludes that any of the milestones or process indicators are 'at risk' or 'missed', the relevant national authorities and/or implementing/donor partners will be engaged to establish emergency corrective action plans. At subsequent meetings, the IMB will then evaluate the quality, implementation and impact of any such corrective action plans. Reports from the group's quarterly meetings go directly to the heads of the spearheading partner agencies - the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and UNICEF - and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and are then made public. The quarterly reports and related information on the functioning of the IMB will be published in the 'report cards' section of the www.polioeradication.org website and made accessible to all stakeholders.
INTEGRATION SUBGROUP & FUTURE SUBGROUP 17/12/2010 from Kate Bai, UNICEF It was noted that the Future Subgroup, supported by the Optimize project, was developing an Immunization Sup-ply Systems vision for 2020 to align with the "Decade of Vaccines". The idea is that this vision would eventually be reviewed and endorsed by the full Taskforce. It was agreed that it would make sense to merge the integration sub-group with the working group within the future stream that is looking at how to best ensure that “immunization supply systems are part of an integrated health supply systems that maximizes synergies, and makes the most appropriate strategic links with the private sector”. The Future Subgroup added a working group to emphasize the importance of human resource capacity in strengthening immunization supply systems, which will be led by AMP and BioForce. To review and provide inputs to the Vision, or to ensure your work on immu-nization systems contributes to the evidence base, please visit: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/immunization_logistics_vision
A NEW TECHNET21 WEBSITE 17/12/2010 from James Cheyne, PATH On Friday 17 December 2010, a new TechNet21 or Technical Network for Strengthening Immunization Services, website will be launched. The website address remains the same: techhnet21.org; The purpose remains the same: to provide an information bridge between the tens of thousands of people working in countries delivering vaccines and the policy makers who mostly work in Geneva, New York and Copenhagen and in the WHO and UNICEF Regional offices;
Those of you who are already members of the TechNet21 forum will not need to re-register with the new site. Those of you who would like to register, please go to technet21.org and click ‘Login’.
The website includes everything from the existing site so nothing is being lost in the move.
Plenty is being gained, however. The site has been extensively beta tested incorporating readers’ comments and comments received during almost three hours of debate in the recent TechNet meeting in Kuala Lumpur (See separate report in this issue of GIN).
The new website now includes: A space for blogs for debate on difficult issues. For example under what conditions should countries purchase locally manufactured refrigerators for storing vaccines?; A photo depot where you can post your pictures or select pictures for use in presentations; A new networking space to link colleagues who have similar ideas and face similar challenges; A new depot where software and other tools are available for download; Latest news and research articles on immunization are streamlined through RSS feeds; The latest job announcements, expert database and more.
Login to TechNet21.org on Friday 17th and please send us your comments. TechNet21 is generously supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, under the oversight of WHO and UNICEF.
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Global Immunization News
“Immunizing in the context of global independence”
“Integrating Immunization, other linked health interventions and surveillance in the health systems context”
James Cheyne 15 Dec ’10 with support from the TechNet moderator, Ms. Pad-mini Menon
New Publications MEETING WITH INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS ON INFLUENZA VACCINE PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. 5-6 MAY 2010, NHA TRANG, VIET NAM (WHO/IVB/10.10) This IVB document is now online. This report looks at the purpose of the meeting to raise awareness about WHO technology transfer project and potentially to attract funds for the Flu Grantees from potential philanthropic donors and development agencies.
HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS LABORATORY MANUAL. FIRST EDITION, 2009 (WHO/IVB/10.12) This IVB document is now online. This manual was developed by the WHO HPV LabNet based on knowledge and experience gained through its international collaborative studies towards international standardization of HPV labo-ratory testing over the past several years. It aims to assist in establishing the laboratory support required for imple-mentation and monitoring of HPV vaccination programmes. The manual is useful for all audiences involved in devel-opment and implementation of HPV vaccines, particularly those involved in generating or using HPV laboratory data.
The information contained in this Newsletter de-pends upon your contributions
RECALL AND DESTRUCTION OF SPECIFIC BATCHES OF YELLOW FEVER VACCINE FROM INSTITUT PASTEUR, DAKAR 17/12/2010 from Alison Brunier, WHO/HQ Following completion of a vaccine quality investigation which took place from August to November 2010, WHO recommended, on 15 December 2010, that, as a precautionary measure, lots 2148 (20-dose ampoules, expiration September 2012) and 2159 (20-dose ampoules, expiration October 2012) of yellow fever vaccine, Vaccin Amaril Stabilisé, produced by Institut Pasteur, Dakar, Senegal be recalled and destroyed by the manufacturer (50 000 ampoules total for both lots). From the quality perspective, since vaccine from the affected lots can be expected to have induced satisfactory immunity, there is no need for revaccination of persons who have already been administered vaccine from these lots. Corrective action has been implemented by the manufacturer, and thus the vaccine remains on the list of WHO prequalified vaccines. More information http://www.who.int/immunization_standards/vaccine_quality/yellow_fever_recall_institutpasteur/en/index.html
HSS= Health Sys-tems Strengthening; IST = Inter Country Support Team; ISS = Immunization Services Support; INS = Injection Safety Support; NVS = New Vac-cine Support; DQA = Data Qual-ity Audit; DQS = Data Qual-ity Self Assessment; RED = Reach Every District; cMYP = Fully costed multi-year plan; NITAG = National Immunization Tech-nical Advisory Group; NRA = National Regulatory Author-ity
“Protecting more people in a changing world”
AMERICAS
QUARTERLY SUBREGIONAL WORKING GROUP, OUAGADOUGOU, 9 DECEMBER 2010 17/12/2010 from Auguste Ambendet, IST Libreville As the Annual Regional conference on Immunization took place in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, from 6 to 8 December 2010, the quarterly Subregional Working group was organized on 9 December 2010 at the same venue. Participants came from WHO regional office and Centre and West ISTs, from UNICEF/WCAR, from GAVI Secretariat, the Agency of Preventive Medicine (AMP), West African Health Organization (WAHO), and SABIN VACCINE INSTITUTE. The meeting was lead by the President of the Group, the coordinator of the WHO intercountry support team (IST) for West Africa, assisted by the West IST representative. The main objective of the meeting was to have an update on the EPI situation in the West and Central African countries, and to focus on the impact that the new GAVI priorities will have on the management of national programmes of vaccination including the new IRIS Project. During the meeting, the following points were discussed: Assessment of the SRWG activities during 2010; Performance of the West and Central African countries' routine EPI during the first 10 months of 2010; Implementation of health systems' strengthening activities in West African countries; Status of MDGs 4 and 5 indicators in subregions and the contribution of vaccination and health systems strengthening towards improving the MDGs; Synthesis of the decisions of the GAVI Board during its 2010 sessions; Importance of the joint WHO/UNICEF form and the consequences on WHO-UNICEF estimates; Priorities for 2011.
WORKSHOP ON VACCINATION SAFETY IN CUBA 17/12/2010 from Carolina Danovaro, WHO PAHO/AMRO A workshop on vaccine safety took place in La Habana, Cuba, from 28 November to 3 December 2010, target-ing EPI Managers from 15 provinces, technicians from the National Regulatory Authority (NRA), and specialists in surveillance of events supposedly attributable to vaccination and immunization (ESAVI), communication, and media. The purpose of the workshop was to enhance the safety of the local immunization programs through knowledge, skills and capacity development in ESAVI monitoring and investigation, regulatory aspects related to vaccines, alliances with the media, and corrective action in response to ESAVIs or rumors. The workshop was facilitated by six renowned experts from four Latin-American countries, including two from Cuba; as well as two advisors on media training from PAHO-HQ.
SECOND ANNUAL LATIN AMERICAN OPEN SOURCE HEALTH INFORMATICS (IMECA) MEETING: OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMMUNIZATION PROGRAMS IN THE AMERICAS: 17/12/2010 from Carolina Danovaro, WHO PAHO/AMRO
The 2nd Latin American Open Source Health Informatics Meeting (www.informaticamedica-lac.org) took place in Granada, Nicaragua, from 29 November to 3 December 2010. Representatives from 17 countries participated. The objectives of the meeting were to 1) share experiences using open source mobile technologies in health, 2) report and validate the preliminary results from a situational analysis of eHealth and mHealth in Latin America, and 3) define the priorities of the IMeCA community and strengthen collaboration in the Region. During the first two days, a landscape analysis, eHealth and mHealth trends in limited-resource settings, and several demos of mHealth and experiences were presented. During the next three days, two parallel workshops took place: one on the use of eHealth tools for developers and implementers, and another on eHealth proposal writing. A poster session was also conducted. An experience using mobile phones and the Internet to respond to emergencies, several related to maternal and perinatal health, in rural communities in Guatemala – implemented by TulaSalud, a Guatemalan non-governmental organization with Canadian funding – was selected as the most interesting experience. Anyone interested in learning more can go to http://groups.google.com/group/imeca_lac/.
The advent of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) offers enormous opportunities to improve the efficiency of the immunization programs in the Americas and the developments in open source can help make these tools more affordable. Mobile technology, record management systems, technology for identification, barcodes, and multimedia, provide potentially useful tools to improve immunization and surveillance data collection, quality, and timeliness of reporting; individualized follow-up of schedules; monitoring of events supposedly attributable to vaccines and immunization (ESAVI); continuing education and training; social mobilization, as well as opportunities to improve and facilitate a more efficient management of the vaccines and other supplies, and the cold chain. Countries of the Americas are in a position to start evaluating the available options, getting to know and appraise local experiences using eHealth and mHealth in their country, and implementing projects of ICT in immunization, of varied scope.
HSS= Health Sys-tems Strengthening; IST = Inter Country Support Team; ISS = Immunization Services Support; INS = Injection Safety Support; NVS = New Vac-cine Support; DQA = Data Qual-ity Audit; DQS = Data Qual-ity Self Assessment; RED = Reach Every District; cMYP = Fully costed multi-year plan; NITAG = National Immunization Tech-nical Advisory Group; NRA = National Regulatory Author-ity
“Protecting more people in a changing world”
FIRST MEETING OF THE INTERNATIONAL EXPERT COMMITTEE ON THE DOCU-MENTATION AND VERIFICATION OF MEASLES, RUBELLA, AND CONGENITAL RUBELLA SYNDROME ELIMINATION IN THE AMERICAS 17/12/2010 from Carolina Danovaro, WHO PAHO/AMRO
The first meeting of an International Expert Committee on the documentation and verifi-cation of measles, rubella, and Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS) Elimination in the Americas took place in the Headquarters of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) 9-10 December 2010. The group is chaired by Dr. Merceline Dahl-Regis, Chief Medical Officer of the Bahamas, and includes epidemiologists and other experts from Bra-zil, Canada, Mexico, Spain, and the United States.
The objectives of this meeting were to: (1) officially establish the members of the Inter-national Expert Committee; (2) review and approve the regional plan of action to docu-ment and verify elimination in the Americas; (3) determine the process and develop a timeline for the implementation of activities of the International Expert Committee; and (4) provide recommendations to support national commissions in the implementation of the documentation and verification process at the country level. The plan of action is intended to serve as a road map for countries to confirm the elimination of measles, rubella and CRS, through a review of the evidence by national commissions.
Seated from left: Isabel Pachón, Louis Cooper, Merceline Dahl-Regis, Mirta Roses (PAHO Director), José Cassio de Moraes, Natasha Crowcroft, José Ignacio Santos. Standing: Jon K. Andrus (PAHO Deputy Director). Expert Committee expert Dr. Walter Orenstein, member of the International Expert Committee, could not attend.
NICARAGUA INTRODUCES 13-VALENT PNEUMOCOCCAL CONJUGATE VACCINE (PCV-13) 17/12/2010 from Carolina Danovaro, WHO PAHO/AMRO
On Sunday 12 December 2010, Nicaragua’s Ministry of Health officially launched the introduction of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-13) to reduce the burden of disease caused by pneumococcus. National authorities and representatives from the GAVI Alliance, PAHO, UNICEF, and other health entities in the country attended the ceremony.
Nicaragua is the first GAVI-eligible country in the world to introduce a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine with GAVI Alliance support.
During the ceremony, Dr. Guillermo González, presidential health advisor and GAVI board member, emphasized the achievements on immunization in Nicaragua, including the high coverage rates, the participation of the civil society, and the role of the popular health brigades in providing vaccines to the difficult-to-reach populations. Ms. Helen Evans, from the GAVI Alliance, indicated that Nicaragua’s high vaccination coverage levels were an important consideration in the Alliance’s decision to provide PCV-13 support, and that the country provides a good example of how to win the battle against vaccine-preventable diseases. Other speakers highlighted the role of PAHO’s Revolving Fund for vaccine procurement and the GAVI Alliance as partners of the Immunization Programs in Latin America, and how the introduction of PCV-13 represents an important milestone for Nicaragua’s Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI). The country introduced MMR vaccine in 1998, Hib and hepatitis B vaccine in 1999, rotavirus in 2006, and seasonal influenza for risk groups in 2007.
Dr. Sonia Castro, Minister of Health, indicated that 277,031 children will benefit from the introduction of PCV-13. Vaccination will start in all the country’s vaccination centers in January 2011. Dr. Castro acknowledged the support from PAHO throughout the history of the EPI in Nicaragua and recognized the contributions from several governments, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and other partners. The event ended with the symbolic vaccination of several children in two health centers.
In the Americas, the gap of time between new vaccine introduction in developed and developing countries is shortening; this has been the case with rotavirus vaccine and now with PCV. Several countries of the Americas have introduced PCV as part of their universal childhood immunization schedules. Nicaragua is the first of the six GAVI-eligible countries in the Region to do so with GAVI support. Guyana and Honduras will also commence PCV vaccination in January 2011.
HSS= Health Systems Strengthening; IST = Inter Country Sup-port Team; ISS = Immuni-zation Services Support; INS = Injec-tion Safety Support; NVS = New Vaccine Sup-port; DQA = Data Quality Audit; DQS = Data Quality Se lf Assessment; RED = Reach Every District; cMYP = Fully costed multi-year plan; NITAG = National Im-munization Technical Advisory Group; NRA = Na-tional Regula-tory Authority
“Protecting more people in a changing world”
EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN REGION
INTER- COUNTRY BRIEFING ON 2011 VACCINATION WEEK IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN REGION 17/12/2010 from Nahad Sadrazodi, WHO/EMRO The Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO) held an Inter-Country briefing on 2011 Vaccination Week on 3 December 2010 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. A total of 50 participants representing the Member States and key partners participated in the second briefing with the purpose of discussing the suggested 2011 theme, sharing experiences and lessons learned, and enhancing the capacity of participants on communicating with the media. Based on the discussions from the EPI Managers meeting in July 2010, and reinforced during the 3 December briefing, it is suggested that the region and countries adopt the theme of “partnership for immunization” for 2011 Vaccination Week, reflecting the collective vision and strategy in addressing the immunization priorities and opportunities. This event can be leveraged to further expand and formalize partnerships with communities, media, and private sector, explore possibilities for innovative financing, strengthen public support for vaccine use, work across national borders, expand services to high risk populations, and maintain immunization high on the agenda of politicians and decision-makers. The WHO Regional Office and partners will continue to advocate for the VWEM initiative with national authorities and stakeholders across the Region. EMRO is also committed to finalizing the relevant tools, documents and promotional materials, and providing technical support as needed.
EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN REGION
Country Information by Region
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Global Immunization News
SUMMARY REPORT ON INTER- COUNTRY MEASLES MEETING 17/12/2010 from Dr Boubker Naouri and Dr Hinda Ahmed, WHO/EMRO
The Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO) held an Inter-Country measles meeting from 28 November to 1 December 2010 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. From each member state three participants were invited: National EPI manager, National Officer responsible for Surveillance and National Officer responsible for Laboratory Surveillance of Measles and Rubella. Also several partners attended this meeting (UNICEF, CDC, Measles Initiative).
The objectives of the meeting were to review and follow up on the progress of the Member States in implementing measles/rubella elimination/control; to review measles case based surveillance and measles lab surveillance network; to review and update the national plans for strengthening measles/rubella elimination and Control program to reach the new target 2015; and to review the measles elimination validation process.
The main part of the meeting was dedicated to the discussion of moving the target year of measles elimination from 2010 to 2015. In addition, the Regional Strategic Plan for Measles Elimination for 2011-2015 was presented and discussed. Countries presented their progress, challenges and plans for the way forward to reach measles elimination before or at the new target date 2015.
HSS= Health Sys-tems Strengthening; IST = Inter Country Support Team; ISS = Immunization Services Support; INS = Injection Safety Support; NVS = New Vac-cine Support; DQA = Data Qual-ity Audit; DQS = Data Qual-ity Self Assessment; RED = Reach Every District; cMYP = Fully costed multi-year plan; NITAG = National Immunization Tech-nical Advisory Group; NRA = National Regulatory Author-ity
“Protecting more people in a changing world”
INTER- COUNTRY WORKSHOP ON SURVEILLANCE OF VACCINE PREVENTABLE DISEASES, AND MONITORING, EVALUATION OF NATIONAL IMMUNIZATION PROGRAMME 17/12/2010 from Dr Daher Aden and Mr Hossam Ashmony, WHO/EMRO The Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO) held an Inter-Country Workshop on Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases and Monitoring, Evaluation of National Immunization programme from 4-6 December 2010 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The workshop was attended by National EPI Managers, measles surveillance officers and measles laboratory surveillance officers from EMR member states, Representatives from UNICEF Regional and Country Offices, CDC Atlanta, the Network for Education and Support in Immunization (NESI). In addition, WHO staff from the Regional and Country Offices (EMRO) and WHO HQ participated in the meeting. The objectives of the Workshop were as follows: To review Vaccine Preventable Diseases surveillance, Re-gional Surveillance Networks and EPI monitoring and evaluation in countries of the EMR; to discuss the re-gional reporting system with the national focal points; to conduct a briefing on data management, data analysis and interpretation; and to brief the participants on approaches and tools for surveillance, monitoring and evaluation. During the workshop, the participants were briefed on vaccine preventable diseases surveillance, which in-cluded the Global Framework on Immunization Monitoring and Surveillance; the current situation on VPD’s surveillance in EMR; Guidelines on vaccine impact assessment; Disease burden estimates; Hepatitis B surveil-lance and sero surveys; Hepatitis B monitoring and evaluation tools; Monitoring and evaluation of EPI, which included briefing on Data Quality Self assessment (DQS) and cluster coverage surveys, using district level data; updated WHO/UNICEF Joint Reporting Form(JRF) 2011; WHO/UNICEF estimate of vaccination coverage; and Post Introduction Evaluations (PIE).
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Global Immunization News
RUBELLA AND TYPHOID VACCINATION MEETING, NEPAL 17/12/2010 from Dr William Schluter MO EPI, IPD/WRO, Nepal On 13-14 December 2010, the Government of Nepal and Nepal NCIP with technical and financial support from WHO Country Office for Nepal jointly convened a meeting in Kathmandu to consider the feasibility of introducing of rubella and typhoid vaccines. The objectives of the meeting were to review rubella burden of disease data; to discuss possible goals and strategies for rubella control; and then to determine the best strategies for rubella vaccination and rubella and CRS surveillance in conjunction with the country’s current strategies to achieve measles elimination by 2015; in addition to review best estimates for the national burden of typhoid disease; and to consider possible strategies for introduction of typhoid vaccination in high risk settings. The introduction of rubella vaccine was already included in Nepal’s comprehensive multi-year plan of action (cMYP) for vaccinations from 2007 to 2011 and therefore, introduction of rubella vaccine was already seen as a public health priority by the Government of Nepal. Rubella burden of disease data available from the national measles case-based surveillance system were supplemented by findings from a rubella sero-prevalence study conducted among women of child bearing age and findings from a study documenting the presence of congenital rubella syndrome among students attending a school for the deaf. Typhoid vaccination, on the other hand, was not previously included in the National Immunization Plan. Evidence of typhoid burden of disease was available from a single sentinel surveillance site in Kathmandu Valley as well as antimicrobial resistance patterns for Salmonella typhi from the National Public Health Laboratory and eleven participating hospitals that provide Salmonella isolates. Subject matter experts from WHO Headquarters in Geneva, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, International Vaccines Institute in Seoul, and the WHO Regional Office for South East Asia in New Delhi contributed to the discussions on options and experience gained in other countries.
SOUTH EAST ASIA REGION
INTERCOUNTRY WORKSHOP ON NITAGS AND NEW VACCINES, 29 NOVEMBER-1 DECEMBER 2010 17/12/2010 from Gabriel Anaya, WHO/WPRO WHO's Regional Office for the Western Pacific held an Intercountry Workshop on National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs), New Vaccines and Surveillance for New Vaccine-Preventable Diseases in Seoul, Korea from 29 November to 1 December, 2010. This workshop was part of WHO's efforts to support countries in informed decision-making for use of the expanding array of vaccines and technologies available to them. The NITAG part of the workshop was co-sponsored by the International Vaccine Institute, a partner along with Agence Medicine Preventive in the SIVAC Initiative which supports countries to develop and strengthen technical advisory groups for immunization. The purpose of the workshop was to review international recommendations and country experiences with NITAGs, decision-making for new vaccine introduction and surveillance for new vaccine-preventable diseases, and to identify ways to strengthen work in these areas. Participating countries included Cambodia, China, Fiji, Laos, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and Viet Nam. The status of development and functioning of NITAGs or similar bodies varies across these countries. After reviewing the current status, participants developed plans to strengthen or establish these bodies and identified steps to achieve these goals. To provide the evidence needed to make decisions on new vaccine introduction, WHO supports surveillance networks for rotavirus diarrhoea and for invasive bacterial diseases, focusing on Haemophilus influenzae type b and streptococcus pneumoniae. The eight countries participating in this workshop form the rotavirus and invasive bacterial disease surveillance networks for the Western Pacific Region. During the workshop, each country presented surveillance data and identified challenges and lessons learnt in implementing the surveillance. Participants then made specific recommendations and plans to strengthen the quality of surveillance and linkages with decision-makers over the next year.
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THE TENTH TECHNET MEETING, KUALA LUMPUR, 30 NOVEMBER-2 DECEMBER. 17/12/2010 from James Cheyne, PATH There were over 100 participants with a quarter representing manufacturers of both supply chain equipment and vaccines. This was a significant increase over previous TechNet meetings where the private sector was less well represented. The keynote address was given by Michel Zaffran, WHO and Director of the WHO-PATH Optimize Project: The future of vaccine management and logistics: Are we prepared? The slides from this presentation can be seen on: http://www.technet21.org/index.php?option=com_agora&task=topic&id=1938&p=1&Itemid=269#p2703). The other presentations from the meeting can also be seen at this address, including the report from Dr Md Shafiqul Hossain from WHO’s Western Pacific Region. Roughly half the time of the meeting was given to discussion and feedback and there were parallel workshops where these topics could be reviewed and debated in more depth: 1. Waste management; 2. Temperature monitoring systems, including experiences in the Philippines, and use of SMS monitoring; 3. PQS and assuring the quality of locally purchased cold chain equipment; 4. Lessons from H1N1 deployment; 5. Developing a better cold box: experiences from CDC and Intellectual Ventures; 6. TechNet21 e-forum: feedback on the beta version of the new website. On the third day of the meeting there were more breakout groups for different constituencies: equipment manufacturers; regional and country logisticians; and HQ and global partners.
WESTERN PACIFIC REGION
HSS= Health Systems Strengthening; IST = Inter Country Support Team; ISS = Immunization Services Support; INS = Injection Safety Support; NVS = New Vaccine Support; DQA = Data Quality Audit; DQS = Data Quality Self Assessment; RED = Reach Every District; cMYP = Fully costed multi-year plan; NITAG = National Immunization Techni-cal Advisory Group; NRA = National Regulatory Authority
From right to left: Dr Souleymane Kone making a point in plenary, Simona Zipursky (WHO-PATH Optimize), Dr Rudi Eggers (Chair, WHO), Diana Chang Blanc
NEW NUVI WEBSITE The NUVI website has been reshaped to better correspond to the needs of its visitors. You can find it under the same address: http://www.who.int/nuvi
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Regional Meetings & Key Events Related to Immunization Title of Meeting Start Finish Location Region
2010 Meetings Technet Meeting 30-Nov 02-Dec Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Global
Preparatory meeting for regional vaccination week 2011 03-Dec 03-Dec Sharm El Sheikh EMRO
Intercountry Training Workshop on Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases and Monitoring & Evaluation of National Immunization Pro-grammes
04-Dec 06-Dec Sharm El Sheikh EMRO
Annual Regional Conference on Immunization (ARCI) and the Annual Afri-can Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Committee 06-Dec 09-Dec Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso AFRO
Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) 08-Dec 09-Dec Geneva, Switzerland Global
First Meeting of the International Expert Committee (International Commis-sion for the Documentation and Verification of Measles, Rubella, and CRS Elimination in the Region of the Americas)
09-Dec 10-Dec Washington, D.C., USA PAHO
Subregional Working Group for West and Central Africa 10-Dec 10-Dec Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso AFRO
2011 Meetings Workshop to Revise the International EPI Evaluation Methodology 24-Jan 28-Jan Washington, D.C., USA PAHO Workshop on Computerized Nominal Registries 01-Feb 03-Feb Bogotá, Colombia PAHO AFRO West and Central Subregional Working Group Feb Feb Kinshasa, DRC AFRO Technical Discussion on Pneumococcal Vaccine Schedules TBD Washington, D.C., USA PAHO WHO Global Meeting on Implementing New and Under-utilized Vaccines 22-Jun 24-Jun TBC Global Global Vaccine Research Forum 2011 25-Jun 29-Jun Geneva, Switzerland Global
PAHO’s Technical Advisory Group on Vaccine-preventable Diseases (TAG) 06-Jul 08-Jul TBD Global
Links Relevant to Immunization
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Global Immunization News
Regional Websites New Vaccines in AFRO PAHO’s website for Immunization Vaccine Preventable Diseases in EURO New Vaccines in SEARO Immunization in WPRO
Newsletters PAHO/Comprehensive Family Immunization Program-FCH: Immunization Newsletter
Produced by WHO, in collaboration with UNICEF and the GAVI Alliance:
Global Websites Department of Immunization, Vaccines & Biologicals, World Health Organization WHO New Vaccines Immunization Financing Immunization Monitoring Agence de Médecine Préventive EPIVAC GAVI Alliance Website IMMUNIZATION basics (JSI) International Vaccine Institute PATH Vaccine Resource Library Pediatric Dengue Vaccine Initiative SABIN Sustainable Immunization Financing SIVAC Program Website UNICEF Supply Division Website Hib Initiative Website Japanese Encephalitis Resources Malaria Vaccine Initiative Measles Initiative Meningitis Vaccine Project Multinational Influenza Seasonal Mortality Study (MISMS) RotaADIP RHO Cervical Cancer (HPV Vaccine) WHO/ICO Information Center on HPV and Cervical Cancer SIGN Updates Technet Vaccine Information Management System PneumoAction International Vaccine Access Center ADVIM-EPINET
