Immunization in Sub-Saharan Africa

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Recommended: health promotion messages on immunization

INTRODUCTION

Immunization is one of the most powerful tools available to improve public and global health. In sub-Saharan Africa immunizations form the basis of primary health care activities, it is the most important and sometimes the only activity in primary health care that brings mothers and children into repeated contact with the health system (Shirley, 1999).

Immunisation services have also been used in sub-Saharan Africa to establish a basis for other health care activities where these are lacking, for example distribution of Insecticide Treated Nets, provision of antenatal care and family planning services (Ehreth, 2003).By combining three innovative preventative approaches, it was hoped that would contribute to reduce maternal and child mortality rates hence achievement of Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5.

Despite these impressive arrangements governments of Benin, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire fail to keep up with routine immunization and antenatal care services and many parents fail to immunize their children. Vaccination coverage has now reached a plateau even where good coverage has been attained; reaching children not yet vaccinated has proved difficult (EPI, 1998). In Expanded Programme on Immunization, maintenance management of equipments (vehicles and cold chain tools) is always the bottleneck and this is so at every single level (central-regional-district-service delivery point). Thus, there is an urgent need to find ways to increase vaccination coverage and particularly to encourage parents to have their children vaccinated (Jheeta & Newell, 2008)

According to the review on immunization coverage best estimates realized by WHO/UNICEF(2010),Benin, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire have low performance le...

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... Africa, 2009) .

Immunization is both cost-effective and life-saving and it “benefits all people, not only through improvements in health and life expectancy but also through its social and economic impact at the global, national and community level” (WHO, 2007).The rationale for this study comes from a practical need to improve immunization services by isolation of innovative practices that are being used in Benin, Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire. The study will identify barrier factors such as health system, financing, social economic, access and cultural which have both direct and indirect impacts on immunization services. Lastly we will highlight the common strategies used in communication for immunization services in the community.This is part of Agence de Médicine Préventive (AMP) ADVocancy for IMmunization (ADVIM) project which aims to develop advocacy.

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