Sharing best practices in improving routine immunization coverage
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Regional Committee for Africa Fifty-eighth SessionYaoundé, Republic of Cameroon, 1–5 September 2008: Provisional agenda item 9
In the 1990s immunization coverage either stagnated or declined in most countries in the AfricanRegion. The coverage for the third dose of diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DPT3) vaccine at nationallevel, an indicator used for tracking immunization performance, was below 50% across the Region.Furthermore, in 2001, 20 of the 46 WHO Member countries in the Region reported decline in DPT3coverage compared to the preceding year.2. In 2002, key immunization partners launched the Reaching Every District (RED) approach as astrategy to address this situation in the African Region. This strategy was made up of fivecomponents, namely: re-establishing outreach activities, linking services with communities,supportive supervision, planning and resource management, and monitoring for action at the districtlevel. By the end of 2007, 94% of the districts in the Region were implementing all components ofthe RED approach.3. As of 2006, significant improvements in DPT3 and measles vaccination coverage weredocumented at national level in 33 and 38 countries, respectively. At regional level, DPT3 coveragerose to 82% in 2006 compared to 57% in 2002. This success has, however, varied between countries.Despite these improvements, 8.7 million infants in the African Region still remain un-reached withthe six basic antigens in the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI). The exchange ofexperiences in implementing the RED strategy will help Member countries improve implementation.
In the 1990s immunization coverage either stagnated or declined in most countries in the AfricanRegion. The coverage for the third dose of diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DPT3) vaccine at nationallevel, an indicator used for tracking immunization performance, was below 50% across the Region.Furthermore, in 2001, 20 of the 46 WHO Member countries in the Region reported decline in DPT3coverage compared to the preceding year.2. In 2002, key immunization partners launched the Reaching Every District (RED) approach as astrategy to address this situation in the African Region. This strategy was made up of fivecomponents, namely: re-establishing outreach activities, linking services with communities,supportive supervision, planning and resource management, and monitoring for action at the districtlevel. By the end of 2007, 94% of the districts in the Region were implementing all components ofthe RED approach.3. As of 2006, significant improvements in DPT3 and measles vaccination coverage weredocumented at national level in 33 and 38 countries, respectively. At regional level, DPT3 coveragerose to 82% in 2006 compared to 57% in 2002. This success has, however, varied between countries.Despite these improvements, 8.7 million infants in the African Region still remain un-reached withthe six basic antigens in the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI). The exchange ofexperiences in implementing the RED strategy will help Member countries improve implementation.