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Annual EPI Managers’ Meeting for West Africa

The annual Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) Managers’ Meeting for West Africa took place from February 22-23, 2011 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The purpose was to evaluate national priorities in the fight against vaccine-preventable diseases and to make recommendations to bridge any gaps.

Nearly 120 participants came from West African governments (17 countries), international organizations and NGOs (WHO, UNICEF, WAHO, GAVI Alliance, International Vaccine Institute, Sabin Vaccine Institute), Rotary International, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and international health projects (AMP’s ADVIM and SIVAC, WHO/PATH Project Optimize).

Achievements and Areas for Development

The following achievements were noted for the period of 2009 to 2010:
• Reduction in the number of unvaccinated infants
• Introduction of new vaccines into national immunization programs: Hib (15 countries), hepatitis B (17), yellow fever (14), pneumococcal pneumonia (22)
• 90% annual reduction in the total number of reported wild poliovirus (WPV) cases
• Increased coverage for measles, yellow fever, maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT)

Participants identified vaccination data as the main area for improvement, saying that current information is incomplete and inconsistent.

Recommendations for Improved Public Health

It was recommended to:

  • Strengthen routine vaccination
  • Organize high-quality vaccination campaigns
  • Link vaccination to other types of interventions (distribution of vitamin A, insecticide-treated mosquito nets, etc.)
  • Ensure sustainable financing of vaccination programs
  • Organize the first African Vaccination Week from April 25-29, 2011 to support current vaccination efforts and to accelerate progress towards Global Immunization Vision and Strategy (GIVS) objectives and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
  • Organize monthly meetings to share data from different structures involved in EPI data management and to standardize the use of data quality self-assessment (DQS)