Le ministère de la Santé à Djibouti lance la deuxième phase de la campagne nationale de vaccination contre la poliomyélite
Plus de 150 000 enfants de moins de cinq ans à Djibouti devraient recevoir une deuxième dose de vaccin contre la poliomyélite à la suite de la première dose administrée au cours de la 1ère phase de la campagne en février 2022.
Djibouti – 27 mars 2022 – La deuxième phase de la campagne nationale de vaccination contre la poliomyélite, menée par le gouvernement par l’intermédiaire du ministère de la Santé en collaboration avec l’UNICEF et l’OMS, a commencé le dimanche 27 mars, pour une durée de cinq jours, jusqu’au jeudi 31 mars.
Women leaders in polio eradication: Pariva Hashemi
Pariva Hashemi talks about her journey as part of Islamic Republic of Iran’s national polio programme
8 March 2022 – It was 1991 and Pariva Hashemi had just started working for the health centre of Semnan province in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Her day started at the break of dawn and sometimes ended late into the night. She spent hours travelling in harsh weather and under difficult road conditions to areas that were far from Semnan. And many times, she had to stay longer at the office to report on new cases of polio in the country.
As a mother, being away from her 2 young children for extended periods of time was not easy, but she knew she had to make this sacrifice to make an important dream come true. She had joined the polio programme with the vision of a day where every child in the world had a healthy body. As an expert on prevention and disease control, she made it her mission to search for where the polio virus was lurking and support polio teams in responding timely.
Islamic Republic of Iran reported its last case of wild poliovirus in 1997. During her time at the national polio programme, Hashemi worked on strengthening the disease surveillance system in the country. This was not an easy feat to accomplish. Islamic Republic of Iran shares 921 kilometres of land border with Afghanistan and 959 kilometres of land border with Pakistan – the only 2 polio-endemic countries. Due to movement of people, chances of virus importation remained high.
“This required utmost sensitivity in disease surveillance and vaccination. We had to make sure that all samples were collected and reported timely and that every child was vaccinated. This meant going the extra mile, across the mountains and deserts to reach every last child, no matter where they were coming from,” explains Hashemi.
All cases of acute flaccid paralysis in children under 15 were promptly detected, reported and sampled through the polio surveillance system. It was the result of these concerted efforts of the entire team that helped them in eradicating polio from the country.
It has been almost 20 years since the country was declared polio-free.
For Hashemi, being a polio worker included more than just timely surveillance. It also meant engaging with communities to educate them on the paralysing and life-threatening effects of the poliovirus.
“A lot of people were unaware of what the poliovirus could do to their child’s health. I am glad that I was able to talk to parents about the risks of poliovirus and encourage them to vaccinate their children. It was not as easy task; we were a strong team of experts in disease prevention and control who had a vision to achieve.
Hashemi retired in 2015 but she is still committed to the cause. She follows the work of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education and partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative closely. Due to her extensive experience in the field, she is often consulted by colleagues for her technical expertise.
She wishes for one more dream to come true now: to see the day when the Eastern Mediterranean Region – and the entire world – is polio-free.
While Islamic Republic of Iran reported its last case of wild poliovirus type 1 in 1997, the country has maintained a vigilant surveillance network, particularly in the areas bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, where isolates of vaccine-derived polio virus have been found in the environment. Additionally, the country continues to implement 2 national vaccination campaigns each year that reach half a million children, including non-Iranians.
Djibouti lance une campagne nationale de vaccination contre la poliomyélite
Djibouti, 27 février 2022 - Son Excellence, Monsieur le Ministre de la Santé, Dr Ahmed Robleh Abdilleh, avec le soutien technique de l’OMS et de l’UNICEF, a lancé ce vendredi 25 février, une campagne nationale de vaccination contre la poliomyélite, d’une durée de cinq jours qui débutera le 27 février 2022, visant à atteindre tous les enfants âgés de zéro à 59 mois présents sur le territoire, soit environ150 000 enfants.
Des équipes multidisciplinaires de vaccinateurs, de mobilisateurs sociaux et d’experts techniques sont déployées à travers le pays pour frapper à toutes les portes, vacciner chaque enfant de moins de cinq ans et augmenter les niveaux d’immunité contre cette maladie infantile mortelle. Il s’agit d’une campagne de maison en maison, la vaccination étant également proposée dans les établissements de santé.
Djibouti a été déclaré exempt de polio en 1999, mais les épidémies de poliovirus de type 2 en Éthiopie, en Somalie et au Yémen accentuent le risque pour tous les enfants de la Corne de l’Afrique et de la région. La poliomyélite circule avec les personnes, et les mouvements de population de masse à travers les frontières internationales soulignent l’urgence d’augmenter les niveaux d’immunité dans toute la région, de sorte que le virus n’ait plus nulle part où aller.
La poliomyélite est une maladie contagieuse causée par un virus qui envahit le système nerveux pouvant entraîner une paralysie à vie et même la mort. Bien qu’incurable, la poliomyélite peut facilement être prévenue par la vaccination.
La campagne de Djibouti est menée avec un nouveau vaccin oral contre la poliomyélite de type 2 (nVPO2), un vaccin de dernière génération. Des essais cliniques ont démontré que le nVPO2 est aussi sûr et efficace que le vaccin antipoliomyélitique oral monovalent (VPOm2), tout en étant plus stable sur le plan génétique. Le nVPO2 est ainsi le vaccin recommandé par l’Initiative mondiale pour l’éradication de la poliomyélite pour les activités de vaccination supplémentaires.
Grâce à cette campagne, Djibouti devient le deuxième pays de la Région OMS de la Méditerranée orientale à utiliser ce vaccin, après l’Égypte qui a mené sa campagne nationale fin 2021.
À la suite de cette campagne de vaccination, une deuxième est prévue fin mars avant le mois de Ramadan, conformément aux meilleures pratiques mondiales visant à renforcer les niveaux d’immunité et à sauver la vie des enfants à Djibouti.
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Statement on stopping the concurrent outbreaks of vaccine-derived poliovirus types 1 and 2 in Yemen
Statement by the Eastern Mediterranean Ministerial Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks
Delivering on a promise: achieving and sustaining a polio-free Eastern Mediterranean Region
Fourth Meeting of the Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks
9 February, 2022 – Noting the progress achieved globally in eradicating poliovirus transmission since 1988;
Noting with deep concern the ongoing and expanding outbreaks of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) in the Region, including a concurrent outbreak of cVDPV1 and cVDPV2 in Yemen;
Recognizing the high risk of persistence and expansion of the two polio outbreaks in Yemen in the setting of low levels of immunity to polio due to disruption in childhood immunization and gaps in coverage of supplementary vaccinations campaigns and evidence of international spread of the outbreak;
Recalling that the spread of polio is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern under the International Health Regulations (2005);
Recognizing the impact of prolonged conflict on disruption of health services, including implementation of house-to-house vaccination campaigns that ensure all vulnerable children can be reached with life-saving polio vaccines;
Understanding that recent escalation in conflict has further reduced the scope of house-to-house polio vaccination in Yemen thereby increasing the risk for continuation of polio outbreaks and increasing the threat of polio paralysis for children in Yemen;
Noting the new global Polio Eradication Strategy 2022-2026 – Delivering on a Promise, laying out the roadmap to securing a lasting world free of all forms of poliovirus, including circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses;
In particular, noting the unique and realistic opportunity to ensure that no child in the Region will ever again be paralysed by any form of poliovirus, and giving the Region one less infectious disease to worry about once and for all;
We, the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks:
DECLARE:
1. The ongoing circulation of any strain of poliovirus in the Region to be a Regional Public Health Emergency; and,
COMMIT TO:
2. Enhancing engagement and support by all political, community and civil society leaders and sectors at all levels, needed to fully resolve the afore-declared Regional Public Health Emergency;
3. Supporting Yemen to fully implement the temporary recommendations issued by the Emergency Committee on Polio Eradication under the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005), including to support them in declaring any confirmation of circulating poliovirus to be a national public health emergency and ensuring highest-level oversight for outbreak response;
4. Supporting Yemen in mobilising all necessary resources to fully implement outbreak response across the country;
5. Helping to strengthen coordination with other public health and humanitarian efforts in Yemen, to ensure closer integration in particular with routine immunization and delivery of essential health services to children;
REQUEST:
6. The international humanitarian and development communities for their strengthened support for providing essential services, including a robust response to the polio outbreaks in Yemen;
7. All authorities and leaders in Yemen to sustain and strengthen their commitment at all levels to intensify polio eradication efforts, including by continuing to increase access to all children in previously inaccessible areas, implementing area-specific emergency action plans in known under-performing areas and responding to the detection of any new viruses from any source (be it from an acute flaccid paralysis case or environmental sample) as an emergency;
8. All authorities in Yemen to facilitate resumption of house-to-house vaccination campaigns in all areas to ensure delivery of vaccine to the youngest and most vulnerable children who are likely to be missed by delivery of vaccine only through fixed sites. In areas where house-to-house vaccination is not feasible, all efforts should be made to implement intensified fixed site vaccination to ensure high coverage, and,
9. The Regional Director to continue his tremendous leadership and efforts to support the cessation of polio outbreaks in Yemen, including by advocating for all necessary financial and technical support, reviewing progress, plan corrective actions as necessary, and regularly informing Member States of the afore-mentioned and of any eventual further action required, through the World Health Organization Executive Board, World Health Assembly and Regional Committee mechanisms.