AFR/RC60/R4 9 September 2010
REGIONAL COMMITTEE FOR AFRICA Sixtieth session Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, 30 August –3 September 2010
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
RESOLUTION CURRENT STATUS OF ROUTINE IMMUNIZATION AND POLIO ERADICATION IN THE AFRICAN REGION: CHALLENGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS (Document AFR/RC60/14) The Regional Committee, Having carefully examined the progress report of the Regional Director on the current status of routine immunization and polio eradication activities in the African Region; Recognizing that, although there was quite substantial progress in improving routine immunization coverage in the African Region during the period 2006–2009, a significantly high number of children are still missed every year and need to be vaccinated if the agreed regional and global targets are to be met; Concerned that there are substantial disparities within and between countries despite the improved overall regional immunization coverage; Further concerned that the current levels of national budgetary allocation to immunization can not sustain the progress made in the introduction and scaling up of new vaccines which are more expensive than the traditional vaccines; Aware that the recent gains in polio eradication and measles control are fragile as evidenced by the recent polio and measles outbreaks and are being jeopardized by suboptimal routine immunization coverage at district level and the significant number of children not reached during supplementary immunization activities in countries; Mindful that access to and utilization of immunization services can be improved through the full implementation of the Reaching Every District (RED) approach and other innovative strategies; Emphasizing the need for all countries to strive towards achieving the internationally-agreed Millennium Development Goal 4, namely to reduce under-five mortality by two thirds by 2015;
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Reaffirming its commitments to implementing various resolutions and decisions on the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) in recent years including resolutions AFR/RC42/R4, AFR/RC43/R8, AFR/RC44/R7, AFR/RC45/R5, AFR/RC52/R2, AFR/RC56/R1 and AFR/RC59/14; 1. ADOPTS the Report of the Regional Director (Document AFR/RC60/14) and its proposed actions aimed at strengthening routine immunization and polio eradication activities in the African Region; 2. URGES Member States: (a) (b) (c) (d) to integrate immunization into national health development policy and plans and health systems strengthening with immunization interventions quantified and costed; to increase immunization financing by ensuring that funds are allocated and disbursed in adequate amounts for routine immunization, polio eradication and measles control; to increase institutional, human resource and management capacity to deliver immunization services especially at subnational levels;
to improve the quality of supplementary and routine immunization activities through detailed microplanning; provision of adequate human, financial and material resources; and utilization of lessons learnt from independent monitoring; to intensify and expand social mobilization activities in order to increase community awareness, participation and ownership; to strengthen vaccine-preventable diseases surveillance at all levels by ensuring active surveillance and at least monthly supportive supervision at the operational level as well as improving monitoring and evaluation; to strengthen immunization research in order to increase understanding of immunization service delivery and define strategies for its improvement; to institutionalize an annual African Vaccination Week for sustaining advocacy, expanding community participation and improving immunization service delivery;
(e) (f)
(g) (h)
3.
REQUESTS the Regional Director: (a) to continue to monitor the implementation of accelerated disease control initiatives with particular emphasis on polio eradication, to control measles and to strengthen routine immunization systems; to advocate and foster continued collaboration with international and multilateral agencies, donor organizations and EPI partners to rally behind the goals of polio eradication and routine immunization in Africa; to provide technical support to Member States and liaise with regional economic communities for the implementation of an annual African Vaccination Week; to report on progress to the Sixty-first session of the Regional Committee and on a regular basis thereafter.
(b)
(c) (d)
AFR/RC60/R4 9 September 2010 REGIONAL COMMITTEE FOR AFRICA Sixtieth session Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, 30 August –3 September 2010 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH RESOLUTION CURRENT STATUS OF ROUTINE IMMUNIZATION AND POLIO ERADICATION IN THE AFRICAN REGION: CHALLENGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS (Document AFR/RC60/14) The Regional Committee, Having carefully examined the progress report of the Regional Director on the current status of routine immunization and polio eradication activities in the African Region; Recognizing that, although there was quite substantial progress in improving routine immunization coverage in the African Region during the period 2006–2009, a significantly high number of children are still missed every year and need to be vaccinated if the agreed regional and global targets are to be met; Concerned that there are substantial disparities within and between countries despite the improved overall regional immunization coverage; Further concerned that the current levels of national budgetary allocation to immunization can not sustain the progress made in the introduction and scaling up of new vaccines which are more expensive than the traditional vaccines; Aware that the recent gains in polio eradication and measles control are fragile as evidenced by the recent polio and measles outbreaks and are being jeopardized by suboptimal routine immunization coverage at district level and the significant number of children not reached during supplementary immunization activities in countries; Mindful that access to and utilization of immunization services can be improved through the full implementation of the Reaching Every District (RED) approach and other innovative strategies; Emphasizing the need for all countries to strive towards achieving the internationally-agreed Millennium Development Goal 4, namely to reduce under-five mortality by two thirds by 2015; AFR/RC60/R4 Page 2 Reaffirming its commitments to implementing various resolutions and decisions on the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) in recent years including resolutions AFR/RC42/R4, AFR/RC43/R8, AFR/RC44/R7, AFR/RC45/R5, AFR/RC52/R2, AFR/RC56/R1 and AFR/RC59/14; 1. ADOPTS the Report of the Regional Director (Document AFR/RC60/14) and its proposed actions aimed at strengthening routine immunization and polio eradication activities in the African Region; 2. URGES Member States: (a) to integrate immunization into national health development policy and plans and health systems strengthening with immunization interventions quantified and costed; (b) to increase immunization financing by ensuring that funds are allocated and disbursed in adequate amounts for routine immunization, polio eradication and measles control; (c) to increase institutional, human resource and management capacity to deliver immunization services especially at subnational levels; (d) to improve the quality of supplementary and routine immunization activities through detailed microplanning; provision of adequate human, financial and material resources; and utilization of lessons learnt from independent monitoring; (e) to intensify and expand social mobilization activities in order to increase community awareness, participation and ownership; (f) to strengthen vaccine-preventable diseases surveillance at all levels by ensuring active surveillance and at least monthly supportive supervision at the operational level as well as improving monitoring and evaluation; (g) to strengthen immunization research in order to increase understanding of immunization service delivery and define strategies for its improvement; (h) to institutionalize an annual African Vaccination Week for sustaining advocacy, expanding community participation and improving immunization service delivery; 3. REQUESTS the Regional Director: (a) to continue to monitor the implementation of accelerated disease control initiatives with particular emphasis on polio eradication, to control measles and to strengthen routine immunization systems; (b) to advocate and foster continued collaboration with international and multilateral agencies, donor organizations and EPI partners to rally behind the goals of polio eradication and routine immunization in Africa; (c) to provide technical support to Member States and liaise with regional economic communities for the implementation of an annual African Vaccination Week; (d) to report on progress to the Sixty-first session of the Regional Committee and on a regular basis thereafter.