Newsletter

CGP-GHS HOA Biannual Newsletter (October 2019 – March 2020)

HOA countries declared polio outbreak a regional public health emergency of international concern in 2013 due to the outbreaks of cVDPV2 in Somalia and Ethiopia and, in response, coordinated regional synchronized outbreak campaigns. The Somali ecosystem is considered at high-risk for further transmission of cVDPV2 due to cross-border movement, low population immunity, and surveillance gaps. Six cvDPV2 cases were reported from northern Somalia and eastern Ethiopia: two from Somaliland, two from Puntland and two from the Somali Region of Ethiopia. At the regional level, these intensive, coordinated response efforts reached more than 3.6 million children with polio vaccination. Communal clashes and insurgent attacks challenge these populations and deprived them of access to strong health services. Based on the HOA Technical Advisory Group (TAG) recommendation, high-risk HOA countries must achieve 50% coverage of the populations with polio vaccination. A risk assessment conducted in Kenya identified 11 high-risk counties. Risk criteria included, proximity to Nairobi, the epicenter of the 2018 cVDPV outbreak, immunity status, Eastern Kenyan counties neighboring Somalia, and Ethiopia. Thus, the geographic scope of the response was in 59 sub-counties within 11 counties with an estimated target population of 2, 636, 037, while Somalia conducted the campaigns in 49 districts in South Central Somalia. In November/December 2019 campaign, Kenya targeted 2,636,037. It reached 2,724,956 (103%) under-five children (vaccinated), of the vaccinated 14.4% were from special populations. Somalia targeted 1,118,701 under-5 children and reached 982,464 children (87.8%) 29,685 zero-dose children.