News In this issue

News

PAHO hosts tweet chats for VWA

VWA launches in Jamaica

VWA is celebrated across the Region of the Americas

Myanmar launches National Immun-ization Week

A roundup of WIW 2016

WHO Immunization Highlights

2015: Touching lives around the world every day

Brazilian State of Ceará implements 2016 imm. strategy in compliance with the Polio Eradication Plan

Thanks and congratulations for a

successful OPV switch

Milestone achieved in GPE

MNTE achieved in WHO SEARO

PAHO/WHO Supports Anti-HPV

Vaccination Campaign in Brazil

MSF delivers petition of 400,000+

people who demand Pfizer and

GSK cut the price of PCV

The WHO assessment of National regulatory system

Greece extends vaccination to refugees and migrants

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Past meetings / workshops

Meeting of the regional certification

commission for the Polio Endgame in the Region of the Americas

Meeting of the Regional Polio La-boratory Network for the Ameri-cas in Colombia

GAP-III Biorisk Management Train-

ing for Polio Lab Network

Course on ESAVI Monitoring and

Vaccine Safety Given in Brazil

First meeting of the global network of NITAGs

Poliovirus biorisk management training

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Resources 16-17

Calendar 18-19

Links 20

Global Immunization News (GIN) May 2016

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VIEW PREVIOUS EDITIONS

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visit the GIN archive on the WHO website:

You can click on the article you are

interested in and access it directly! WHO African Region kicks off the 6th African Vaccination Week to

close the immunization gap and keep Africa polio free Blanche Anya, Alex Gassasira, Zorodzai Machekanyanga, Richard Mihigo, Mary Momuluh and

Joseph Okeibunor, WHO AFRO

The sixth edition of the African Vaccination Week

(AVW) was kicked off on 24 April 2016, the same day as

the kick-off of the World Immunization Week (WIW),

and vaccination week in the other five WHO regions.

This year’s theme of the AVW “Close the immunization

gap. Stay polio free!”, was aligned with the global theme

for WIW. The aim was to draw attention on the need

to attain universal

immunization

coverage in the

African Region by

closing the im-

munization gap, while also celebrating the important

polio eradication milestone reached in the African Re-

gion. It also calls on countries to stay vigilant in the

fight against polio

and stay polio

free.

The celebration of

this year’s AVW

coincided with the globally synchronized switch occur-

ring during the period from 17 April to 1 May 2016.

The Regional launch was held in Ganta, Nimba County,

Liberia on 25

April 2016 during

a very colorful

function chaired

by the Deputy

Minister of Health Services, Dr Francis Kateh. The

event was combined with the celebration of the World

Malaria Day and the introduction of two new vaccines

(rotavirus vaccine in the entire country and Human

Papilloma Vaccine as a demonstration project) into the

national immunization schedule.

Both the Chair of the Senate Committee on Health and

the Co-Chair of the House of Representatives commit-

tee on Health publicly pledged to lobby for enhanced budgetary allocation to the Ministry of

Health specifically for immunization.

Link to the AVW website.

Link to the AVW video.

Liberia: Young girls vaccinated with

HPV vaccine at the launch event

displaying their vaccination cards

Liberia: Parade during the regional

launch of the African Vaccination

Week (AVW) and the World Malaria

Day

Liberia: WHO Representative, Dr

Alex Gasasira delivering WHO Re-

gional Director’s message in Ganta

Liberia: A pregnant woman receiving

impregnated bed net during the joint

AVW and World Malaria day event

Page 2

Global Immunization News (GIN) May 2016

PAHO hosts tweet chats for Vaccination Week in the Americas Lauren Vulanovic, PAHO-Washington, DC

In celebration of Vaccination Week in the Americas (VWA), PAHO hosted tweet

chats using the hashtags #GetVax and #Vacunate to engage with partners and the

general public on the importance of vaccination. Centering on the messages that

vaccines are safe, effective, necessary and cost-effective, the PAHO team took to

Twitter to answer questions from the public and dialogue with partners such as the

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Public Health Agency

of Canada, Immunize Canada, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the UN Foun-

dation’s Shot at Life, the Sabin Vaccine Institute, and Vaccine Ambassadors. Minis-

tries of health and clinics throughout the Region also participated. Separate tweet

chats were held in English and Spanish.

During VWA, PAHO country offices in Argentina, Honduras and Peru also hosted

national tweet chats with the hashtag #Vacunate. Tweet chats and other similar

activities using social media provide PAHO a unique opportunity to communicate with a wide range of individuals

and institutions on key public health issues.

Vaccination Week in the Americas launches in Jamaica Elizabeth Thrush, PAHO-Washington, DC

The regional launch for Vaccina-

tion Week in the Americas

(VWA) was celebrated in King-

ston, Jamaica on 23 April 2016

with participation from the nation-

al health authorities, partner agen-

cies and regional PAHO staff, in-

cluding PAHO’s Director, Dr

Carissa F. Etienne.

One of the highlights of the cere-

mony was students from the

Rousseau Primary School 14 performing a very creative and original

song and dance about vaccination using the “Go for the Gold!” theme. The video

can be viewed here.

VWA was celebrated from 23 to 30 April 2016 under an Olympic theme, with the

slogan “Go for the Gold! Get Vaccinated!”. More than 35 countries and territories in

the Region of the Americas came together to raise awareness on the importance

of vaccination and implement vaccination activities. An estimated 60 million indi-

viduals were reached this year, including underserved populations in hard-to-reach

areas.

The PAHO team ready to an-

swer questions about vaccination

during the #GetVax tweet chat.

Photo credit: Lily Jara, PAHO-

Washington, DC.

PAHO’s Director Carissa Etienne poses with

Jamaican Olympian, “Fastest Man in the

World,” Usain Bolt to promote this year’s

VWA after the launch in Jamaica. Photo credit:

PAHO/WHO.

Children celebrate the launch of

VWA on 23 April 2016 in King-

ston, Jamaica. Credit: PAHO/

WHO.

A group of Jamaican dancers per-

forms a traditional dance at the

VWA launch. Credit: PAHO/

WHO.

Global Immunization News (GIN) May 2016

Page 3

Vaccination Week in the Americas is celebrated across the Region of the Americas Elizabeth Thrush, PAHO-Washington, DC

On 1 May 2016 in the Amazon Region, PAHO’s Director, together with national and

local health authorities from Colombia, Brazil and Peru, celebrated Vaccination Week in

the Americas (VWA) in Leticia, Colombia, bordering Tabatinga, Brazil and Santa Rosa de

Yavari, Peru. At the event, Dr Etienne’s speech highlighted the importance of cross bor-

der collaboration and partnership, stating, “Diseases do not respect borders, so partner-

ships like this are critical to eliminate diseases and maintain those that have already been

eliminated, but continue to circulate in other parts of the world.” The celebration fea-

tured music, traditional dance, and food tastings from Brazil, Colombia and Peru, speech-

es from each of the representatives, and symbolic vaccinations with the influenza vaccine.

VWA Celebrations in Peru

Peru celebrated VWA by vaccinating against hepatitis B, prioritizing their population old-

er than five years of age by risk factors, including individuals in indigenous communities

and areas with high endemic populations. They held a national launch in Lima, Peru and

developed a slide show video of the event, which can be viewed here. Additionally, join-

ing in with the Olympic theme, the Peruvian Judo team shared a message about joining

them in going for the gold and getting vaccinated. The video can be viewed here.

Other VWA activities across the Region of the Americas

There were many other VWA launch events, vaccination campaigns and integrated activi-

ties that took place across the Region in celebration of VWA 2016. Countries are work-

ing on developing their national reports now, which will then be used to develop the

Regional VWA 2016 Report. The Report will be available later on this year. The 2015 report can be accessed here.

Myanmar launches National Immunization Week Rajendra Bohara, WHO Country Office, Myanmar

On 29 April 2016, Dr Myint Htwe, the newly-appointed

Minister of Health for Myanmar, launched the National

Immunization Week during a high-level ceremony held in

the capital, Nay Pyi Taw. The launch of the Myanmar Im-

munization Week happened in correlation with WHO’s

World Immunization Week and represented an important

policy statement of the new Government of Myanmar.

The Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) is considered a high priority for the new Government and for the

Ministry of Health, in particular during the first 100 days and six months of their admin-

istration. In his speech, the Minister emphasized the ef-

forts taken to reach every child in Myanmar with vaccines

and illustrated plans to expand vaccination services in hos-

pitals, hard-to-reach and peri-urban areas and increase

involvement of communities through social mobilization

activities.

Talking about the introduction of new vaccines, Dr Myint

Htwe highlighted the efforts taken to introduce Hib, Hep-

atitis B, Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) and Rubella vac-

cines in routine immunization and discussed plans to introduce the Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) from July

2016. In the near future Myanmar will also introduce Japanese Encephalitis (JE), Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and ro-

tavirus vaccines into routine immunization services. Advocacy efforts towards parliamentarians and Chief State and

Region Ministers will be central to obtain support for strengthening immunization activities as well as community mo-

bilization, integrated immunization services in hospitals, data management, effective monitoring and supervision, and

the implementation of special strategies for hard-to-reach, conflict-affected and peri-urban areas.

Lastly, the ceremony on 29 April 2016 also signaled the switch from trivalent OPV (tOPV) to bivalent OPV (bOPV) in

Myanmar. From now on, tOPV will no longer be used for immunization throughout the country.

Tri-national launch for

VWA between Colombia,

Brazil and Peru. Photo

credit: Sebastian Oliel, PA-

HO-Wash DC.

Counting of tOPV

Disposal of tOPV Burial of tOPV

Launching of National Im-

munization Week, by the

Minister of Health

Global Immunization News (GIN) May 2016

A roundup of World Immunization Week 2016 Hayatee Hasan, WHO Headquarters

Vaccines and immunization were centre stage during World Immunization Week (WIW

2016) which took place at the end of April with celebrations across countries in the six

WHO regions. To mark the week, various events and activities were held by WHO and

other immunization partners worldwide. Read the WHO news release, blog on vaccines:

a global health success story, Q&A addressing some of the myths and misconception about vaccination, feature sto-

ries on Ebola, measles in Austria and the importance of immunization in Nepal, quiz and video. All WIW materials by

WHO are available on the campaign website with links to the regional immunization weeks.

Page 4

WHO Immunization Highlights 2015: Touching lives around the world every day Hayatee Hasan, WHO Headquarters

There is arguably no single preventive health intervention more cost-effective than immunization. Time and again, the

international community has endorsed the value of vaccines and immunization to prevent and control a large number

of infectious diseases and, increasingly, several chronic diseases that are caused by infectious agents. Today, parents,

communities and governments have the responsibility to strive for universal coverage with vaccines that have the

potential to bring about the elimination of diseases that have limited human development for millennia.

The year 2015 was significant for global immunization, marking the mid-point in the 2011-2020 Global Vaccine Action

Plan. The current status of each of vaccine action plan main targets was evaluated by the WHO Strategic Advisory

Group (SAGE) on Immunization. Results showed that several important targets remained off-track and at risk of not

being met in full by the end of the decade.

WHO continued to provide leadership in setting immunization policy and, working in close collaboration with Minis-

tries of Health, partner and funding agencies, and community organizations worldwide, has overseen the successful

implementation of those policies from global to household level.

A selection of the most notable immunization achievements and events in 2015 as a result of WHO’s involvement is

featured here. It highlights areas of notable progress that will be consolidated and built upon going forward, while

renewed effort and investment are needed to ensure that all of vaccine action plan targets are met in full and on time.

Read the 2015 WHO Immunization Highlights

Brazilian State of Ceará implements the 2016 immunization strategy in compliance

with the Polio Eradication Plan Ana Vilma Leite Braga; Ana Karine Borges Carneiro; Tereza Wilma Silva Figueiredo and Marcio Garcia, Secretary of

Health—Ceará

Poliomyelitis is a disease in the process of eradication, and efforts

have been made globally to achieve the goal of a polio-free world. In

order to totally eradicate this disease, it is necessary to eliminate the

vaccine-derived poliovirus through the phased removal of the attenu-

ated oral polio vaccine (OPV), beginning with the already-eradicated

type 2 component, and by adopting robust strategic immunization

actions.

In order to meet the State of Ceará’s commitment to completing all

the phases of Polio Eradication certification, the Immunization Unit

(NUIMU) of the State Health Department (SESA) organized work-

shop training courses in the State´s 184 municipalities, from 29 February to 4 March 2016. These workshops, aimed

at disseminating the Polio Eradication Plan, focused on targets and deadlines, and the procedures to be followed over

the next few months.

The topics addressed were: the impact of polio elimination, the substitution of trivalent OPV (tOPV) for bivalent

OPV (bOPV), vaccine indications and contraindications, procedures for the conservation and disposal of vaccines and

materials, data entry and consolidation, monitoring Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) or Events Suppos-

edly Attributable to Vaccination or Immunization (ESAVI), and the monitoring and evaluation of vaccination coverage.

The training sessions for all professionals working in the immunization area, including 180 immunization coordina-

tors, were held in the five health macro-regions over a five-day period.

This strategy was considered effective, since most of the State´s municipalities were represented in the workshops,

and all the participants had an opportunity to clarify issues with respect to achieving the Polio Eradication Plan target.

NUIMU training workshops in the State of Cea-

rá Health Macro-regions. Credit: PAHO/WHO.

Global Immunization News (GIN) May 2016

Page 5

Milestone Achieved in Global Polio Eradication Cristina Pedreira; Elizabeth Thrush, PAHO-Washington, DC

Between 17 April 17 and 1 May 2016, 155 countries switched

from the trivalent oral polio vaccine (tOPV) to the bivalent

vaccine (bOPV) in a globally coordinated effort. Of these 155,

36 countries participating in this historic event were from the

Americas.

These countries have been working, along with the rest of the

world, for the past year and a half, preparing national switch plans, closely monitoring

levels of tOPV stock to reduce the amount of tOPV that would need to be destroyed,

implementing vaccination campaigns to increase coverage before

the switch, training health care workers at every level and coordi-

nating bOPV delivery and safe tOPV withdrawal and destruction.

In the two-week post-switch period, every country monitored the switch, visiting at least 10%

of all health facilities to ensure that no tOPV vial was left in the cold

chain. Over the next two months, all 36 countries in the Region will

continue supervising the switch, making sure that 100% of all the health

facilities in the Region are using bOPV and that all tOPV has been re-

moved and destroyed.

The successful completion of the switch is a great milestone for global polio eradication and an

important event that will go down in global public health history. This achievement is the result

of a strong commitment from public health authorities, health work-

ers both in the Region and globally and partner agencies like the

World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund

(UNICEF), Rotary, the Task Force for Global Health, United States

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Bill and

Melinda Gates Foundation, among others.

Ecuador deserves special recognition for achieving a successful and

timely switch as planned, despite the destruction caused by a massive

7.8 magnitude earthquake that happened on April 16th, just days

before the scheduled switch.

Congratulations to everyone who has contributed to reaching this target!

One of the 1st doses of

bOPV applied in Ecua-

dor. PAHO-Ecuador

Dr K. Lewis Bell, Carib-

bean PAHO Advisor,

visits health clinics in

Jamaica to validate the

switch. PAHO/WHO

A young child is

among the first to

receive bOPV in

Jamaica. PAHO/WHO

Thanks and congratulations to countries and partners for a successful OPV switch Alejandro Ramirez Gonzalez and Lisa Menning, WHO HQ

As of the start of May 2016, the type 2 component of oral poliovirus vaccine was successfully removed from routine

immunization programmes around the world, in the switch from trivalent Oral Polio Vaccine (tOPV) to bivalent Oral

Polio Vaccine (bOPV). Confirming that tOPV is no longer being used, almost all countries have submitted their nation-

al validation reports, with the remaining few in the final stages of clearance and signature.

Thanks to tOPV, more than 16 million children are walking today who would otherwise have been paralysed for life.

Giving protection against all three types of the virus, it led to the eradication of type two wild poliovirus, confirmed in

September 2015, and to three years passing since the last case of type three wild was reported in 2012. With type

one wild poliovirus remaining in just two countries – Pakistan and Afghanistan – and case numbers at an all-time low,

the world is closer than it has ever been to forever seeing the end of polio. bOPV will help to reinforce immunity

against polio and take the world one step closer to the eventual withdrawal of all OPV, as outlined in the Polio Eradi-

cation and Endgame Strategic Plan.

The global OPV switch is a remarkable achievement, demonstrating the capability of the world to endorse a common

goal and work towards the necessary actions. After many months of coordination, training, logistical preparations, and

later efforts to monitor and validate removal of tOPV, the switch is now complete.

On behalf of the global team, we would like to extend our sincere thanks to everyone who helped to make this truly

historic milestone possible.

Trinidad and Tobago de-

stroying unused tOPV vials

in incinerator. Nat. Valida-

tion Report Trinidad and

Tobago.

St. Lucia destroys

tOPV by burying

unused vials in the

ground with cement.

Nat. Validation Report

Suriname

Page 6

Global Immunization News (GIN) May 2016

Maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination (MNTE) achieved in WHO South East

Asia Region MNTE validation in last region in Indonesia (Maluku, North Maluku, Papua, West Papua)

Sigrun Roesel, WHO SEARO

Co-Authors: Vinod Bura, WHO Country Office, Indonesia and Ahmadu Yakubu, WHO Headquarters

In the WHO South-East Asia Region, maternal and neonatal tetanus is no

longer a major public health problem. Following the validation of the elimi-

nation of maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNTE) in the remaining areas

(Maluku, North Maluku, Papua and West Papua provinces / region 4) in

Indonesia in May 2016, the Region has achieved another key public health

goal.

In a phased approach, Indonesia validated MNTE in region one (Java and

Bali) in August 2010, in region two (Sumatera) in November 2010 and in

region three (Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara Timur and Nusa

Tenggara Barat) in July 2011. India, also applying a phased approach, had

been validated for reaching MNTE across the whole country in April 2015.

Prior to India and Indonesia, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Timor-Leste

reached the elimination goal and were validated in 2005, 2008, 2010 and 2012, respectively. Based on their

longstanding quality performance of routine immunization and surveillance systems, it was assumed that Bhutan,

the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand had already achieved MNTE before

2000.

The first evaluation of MNTE for Indonesia’s region four took place in December 2012 and 18 districts (14 dis-

tricts in Papua, two districts in Maluku and North Maluku and two districts in West Papua) were considered to

remain at risk. Subsequently, two rounds of tetanus toxoid (TT) supplementary immunization activities (SIAs)

were conducted in 2013 and 2014. A second evaluation carried out in August 2015 found that 3/18 high-risk dis-

tricts assessed by field visits were now at low risk. WHO consultants

were placed in the five districts remaining at highest risk in Papua province

to support the implementation of further TT SIAs. Data desk review and

rapid coverage assessments (RCA) in Maluku and West Papua were con-

cluded as low risk, except in one district where further field evaluation

was required.

The 2013 Basic Health Survey showed coverage of the first antenatal care

visit (ANC1) at 70% for Papua province, 82% for West Papua, 81% for

Maluku and 90% for North Maluku, indicating a high chance of TT protec-

tion of pregnant women if TT vaccine is provided during antenatal care

(ANC).

Implementation of a LQA-CS survey was not possible in Papua due to the difficult terrain, the scattered popula-

tion, security concerns and high cost implications. In absence of reliable neonatal tetanus (NT) surveillance, expe-

riences have shown MNTE is compatible with a TT2+ coverage rate of >80% or with a skilled birth attendance

(SBA) rate of >70%.

As such the objective of the WHO-led validation field visits on 8-15 May 2016 was to provide evidence that 80%

of newborns in Papua are protected against tetanus, either by TT vaccination or by SBA. Visits took place in three

districts classified as potential high-risk in Papua and to three medium-risk districts, including one in West Papua.

Findings are compatible with 80% TT2+ protection of the mothers and as such with MNTE in region four. By ex-

tension the whole of Indonesia is validated to have attained MNTE.

Findings and MNTE achievement were first presented to the Minister of Health of Indonesia, Prof Nila F. Moeloek

on 18 May 2016 and then to all 34 provinces (EPI and MCH) on 19 May 2016. Strategies and requirements for

maintaining MNTE were discussed to support the development of respective action plans.

Link to the joint press release from WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA on WHO Indonesia website.

Link to the Ministry of Health, Republic of Indonesia, press release on achieving the MNTE elimination status.

Debriefing Minister of Health, Republic

of Indonesia, on MNTE validation suc-

cess in region 4 (Maluku, North Malu-

ku, Papua, West Papua)

MNTE validation field assessment in

Papua Province, Indonesia

Global Immunization News (GIN) May 2016

Page 7

WHO South–East Asia Region eliminates Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus

In a major public health feat, the WHO South-East Asia Region has eliminated

maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT) with all districts across the 11 countries

having reduced cases to less than one per 1000 live births.

Partner organizations such as UNICEF, United Nations Population Fund

(UNFPA), community-based organizations and other stakeholders played a

critical role in the success.

Home to nearly one-fourth of the global population, the South-East Asia Re-

gion is the second among six WHO Regions to achieve MNT elimination,

after the European Region.

UNICEF played a critical role in this success by advocating with partners including national governments to commit to

the goal of MNT elimination and fundraising to close the resource gaps for the target countries. Other partners that

supported the effort include the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), community-based organizations and other

stakeholders.

As highlighted by the WHO Regional Director of the South-East Asia Region, efforts do not end here. Unlike small-

pox and polio, tetanus cannot be eradicated as tetanus spores remain stubbornly present in the environment world-

wide.

Read the news release

Credit: T. Moran/WHO

PAHO/WHO supports anti-HPV vaccination campaign in Brazil Carla Domingues and Ana Goretti Maranhão, Ministry of Health, Brazil; Samia Samad, PAHO-Brazil

With the March launch of the Brazilian Ministry of Health´s publicity campaign

aimed at raising awareness among parents and guardians regarding the importance

of vaccinating against the human papillomavirus virus (HPV), the Pan American

Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) Representative

Office in Brazil is highlighting the importance, safety, and effectiveness of this vac-

cine in preventing cervical cancer.

The Ministry of Health´s decision to immunize girls and women aged nine to 26

years living with HIV/AIDS, as well as nine-13-year-old adolescents, is in line with

PAHO/WHO recommendations. The organization has made efforts to convince

all the Member States to implement these preventive measures.

For PAHO/WHO, vaccination against HPV is the most cost-effective public health

measure against cervical cancer––the fourth more frequent type of cancer in

women, and the cause of 7.5% of all female cancer deaths (with an estimated

530,000 new cases in 2012).

Publicity Campaign

With the slogan “Protect the future of those you love,” the campaign was launched from 3 to 15 April 2016, with the

actress Carolina Kasting and her 13-year-old daughter in the leading roles. The goal was to vaccinate around 1.7 mil-

lion nine-year-old girls in all Brazil´s 5,570 municipalities and also to include 10-13-year-olds who have not yet been

vaccinated and those who have not yet received the two doses required for effective immunization.

For girls and women living with HIV/AIDS, the vaccination regime involves three doses. The second dose should be

given two months after the first and the third dose at six months after the first (i.e. at 0, 2, and 6 months).

Campaign poster for HPV Vaccina-

tion in Brazil.

Page 8

Global Immunization News (GIN) May 2016

MSF delivers petition of more than 400,000 people who demand Pfizer and GSK

cut the price of pneumonia vaccine François Servranckx, Médecins sans frontière

On 27 April 2016 in New York, one day before Pfizer’s annual shareholder

meeting, MSF delivered the names to Pfizer of more than 400,000 people

from 170 countries who signed a petition demanding that Pfizer and Glax-

oSmithKline (GSK) reduce the price of their pneumococcal conjugate vac-

cines (PCV) to US$5 per child in all developing countries and for humani-

tarian organizations. Despite there being a vaccine that can prevent it,

pneumonia remains the leading global cause of childhood death in many

developing countries, killing almost one million kids each year.

A Video from the event is available at this link.

That day more than 80 volunteers and global health activists walked in

silence from Grand Central Station to Pfizer Global Headquarter and

dropped 2,500 flowers – representing the number of kids dying from pneumonia each day - in front of Pfizer’s

door. Reams of paper with the names of the more than 400,000 people from 170 countries who signed MSF’s ‘A

FAIR SHOT’ petition lay in an empty baby crib. The petition urges Pfizer and GSK to drop the price of their PCVs

to $5 per child (for all three doses). With Pfizer having earned more than $6 billion in sales for this vaccine just

last year alone, signatories of the petition sent a strong signal to Pfizer’s CEO, Board and shareholders that the

company should not put billions of dollars in profits over children’s lives. The following day, at its Annual Meeting

of Shareholders, Pfizer’s CEO Ian Read for the first time publicly agreed to meet with MSF leadership to discuss

pneumonia vaccine pricing.

The petition names were also delivered to Pfizer and GSK headquarters with various stunts in the UK, Spain, and

Italy, amplifying the collective power of our voices.

In Front of Pfizer’s global Headquarter

in New York, an empty baby crib with

the names of the more than 400 000

people who signed the petition, is being

filled with 2 500 flowers. Credit: Edwin

Torres

The WHO assessment of National regulatory system – vaccine regulation lead to

increase global supply of assured quality vaccine and address current shortage of

vaccines Lahouari Belgharbi, Samir El Hemsy and Alireza Khadem, WHO Headquarters

Between 2014 and 2016, WHO has conducted a series of assessments of national regulatory systems using a pub-

lished set of assessment functions and indicators. The goal is to enhance access to assured quality vaccines by de-

veloping country road maps aiming to increase eligibility of a country to produce prequalified vaccines. For exam-

ple, China (March 2010 and re-assessed in April 2014) was one of the major successes. This country is one of the

major producers of vaccines with China with a huge domestic market. This country has already prequalified two

vaccines (JE and Influenza) and others are in the pipeline. Additionally we have assessed Mexico (March 2014),

Viet Nam (April 2015) and the Russian Federation (April 2016). All of these countries have contributed to increas-

ing the number of domestic manufacturers that can apply for vaccine prequalification.

We expect that Saudi Arabia (November 2016) and soon Bangladesh (2-3 years) are investing in vaccine produc-

tion to become two potential manufacturers of prequalified vaccines. We have estimated that the WHO NRA

assessment programme has significantly increased the potential for current domestic vaccines produced in 44

countries to become prequalified. So far approximately 40 new vaccines manufacturers, of which 30 to 50% are

interested in immediately applying for WHO vaccine prequalification, will help to sustain global supply of assured

quality. This is going to help address the current shortage of BCG and Yellow Fever vaccines and contribute to

sustaining the security of the global supply of prequalified vaccines.

Global Immunization News (GIN) May 2016

Page 9

Greece extends vaccination to refugees and migrants Hayatee Hasan, WHO Headquarters

Two vaccination campaigns for the refugee

and migrant population in Greece will begin

in early May 2016 to ensure that all those

who require vaccination receive it. Vaccina-

tion will be provided according to Greece's

national immunization schedule.

Approximately 50 000 refugees, asylum

seekers and migrants currently live in about

50 centres and camps across Greece. About

60% of the total refugee and migrant popula-

tion in the country are women and minors,

and one in three is a child. Specific public

health interventions are needed because the

country is now hosting people for longer,

and the demographic pattern of those stay-

ing has changed.

WHO has donated 26 000 yellow vaccina-

tion booklets to ensure that each person's vaccinations given are documented, to help avoid unnecessary revaccina-

tion. In addition, WHO and partners are actively supporting the identification of vaccine stocks that can be used for

the campaigns, engaging with partners and Member States.

WHO is providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Health, reviewing the vaccination plans and ensuring that

vaccines are provided in an equitable manner with a systematic, sustainable, non-stigmatizing approach.

Read the news release

Drawing from an Afghan refugee. S. Barragan Montes/WHO

Page 10

Global Immunization News (GIN) May 2016

Past Meetings/Workshops Meeting of the regional certification commission for the Polio Endgame in the

Region of the Americas

Gloria Rey Benito, Cristina Pedreira, Elizabeth Thrush and Andrea Villalobos, PAHO-Washington, DC

Location: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Date: 29-31 March 2016

Participants: National Polio Containment Coordinators

(NPCC) from Argentina (virtual), Brazil,

Canada, Chile, Guatemala, Mexico and the

United States; the Deputy Chair of the Car-

ibbean Sub-regional Certification Commit-

tee; PAHO Secretariat; and the WHO Po-

lio Containment Coordinator.

Purpose: To review country reports on the contain-

ment of wild poliovirus (WPV) and present

questions and recommendations from RCC

members to National Poliovirus Contain-

ment Coordinators (NPCC) from countries

that reported WPV/VDPV materials.

RCC members, NPCC, WHO and PAHO staff participants in the Meeting of the RCC, 29-31 March 2016. Photo credit: Elizabeth Thrush, PAHO-Washington, DC.

Details: PAHO countries had prepared reports on advances in poliovirus containment following standard-

ized methodology. At this meeting, the RCC and PAHO Secretariat had received reports from 16 countries and the

Caribbean sub-region (including 13 countries, six UK territories and three associate members).

The reports were submitted between 1 January and 28 March 2016 and they were reviewed by

RCC members and the PAHO Secretariat. Six country reports were pending: Bolivia, Costa Rica,

Ecuador, El Salvador, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The RCC received presentations from eight countries that had reported infectious or potentially

infectious WPV materials from Phase I of GAP II by March 2010. At that time, 224 facilities had

infectious or potentially infectious WPV materials in those eight countries as of March 2010. During the meeting, the content of the country reports and presentations were analyzed and dis-

cussed. This was done using a structured format with comments from a primary and secondary

RCC member reviewer, comments from other RCC members, and PAHO. Opportunities for

comments from other attendees were also provided. All countries providing reports demonstrated commitment to containment and have progressed

significantly with Phase I of containment activities. Some countries provided very good examples of

best practices, such as: strong political leadership, multi-sectorial engagement, technical commit-

ment and leadership and collaboration with and active involvement of NCC in the review, analysis

and submission of reports.

Global Immunization News (GIN) May 2016

Page 11

Meeting of the Regional Polio Laboratory Network for the Americas in Colombia

Gloria Rey Benito, PAHO-Washington, DC

Location: Cartagena, Colombia

Date: 11-12 April 2016

Participants at the Meeting of Polio Laboratory Network of the Region of the Americas held in Cartagena, Colombia, 11-12 April 2016. Photo credit: Alexandria San Jose, PAHO-Washington, DC.

Participants: Representatives of nine of the eleven polio laboratories of the Americas Region attended the meet-

ing, including the Malbran Institute (Argentina), Fiocruz (Brazil); Evandro Chagas Institute (Brazil);

the National Health Institute (Colombia); the Public Health Institute (Chile); the Institute for Epide-

miologic Diagnosis and Reference (Mexico); the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

(United States-CDC); National Institute of Hygiene “Rafael Rangel” (Venezuela); and the Caribbean

Public Health Agency (CARPHA). Additionally, representatives from the CDC’s Polio and Picorna-

virus Laboratory Branch, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Polio Laboratory Net-

work (GPLN) Coordination, and the Immunization Unit from the Family, Gender and Healthy Life

Course Department (FGL/IM) of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) were also in at-

tendance. Laboratories from Canada and Cuba could not attend.

Purpose: To present the global status of the Polio Lab Network (GPLN), to review the status and perfor-

mance of the Regional Polio Lab Network for the Americas (RPLN) and to review technical aspects

related with poliovirus containment and adaptation of procedures within the GPLN.

Details: The global laboratory coordinator (GLC) presented an update on the global situation of wild po-

liovirus (WPV) and vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) transmission and status of the GPLN. The

regional laboratory coordinator (RLC) presented a regional update on the PAHO GPLN laborato-

ries, including the performance of PAHO polio labs on the proficiency tests of virus isolation, in-

tratypic differentiation (ITD), sequencing and workload. Progressive participation in external quality

assessment for viral isolation, ITD and VDPD increased from six to 10 laboratories by 2011 and

2015, respectively. 100% of the laboratories of the RPLN received at least one accreditation visit

between 2012 and 2015. Areas for improvement were identified and shared by the RLC.

Each of the representatives from the laboratories in the RPLN presented a report on the actions

taken for poliovirus containment. All countries showed commitment to the plan and significant

progress in containment activities. Laboratories from the Region of the Americas started the pro-

cess to adapt the technical procedures to recommendations from the GPLN.

Representatives from the CDC presented an update from their working group on improving polio

laboratory diagnostics, especially related with ITD and sequencing proficiency test panels, handling

nucleic acids, type 2 serology and current molecular assays on developing and using FTA cards.

The GLC presented the GPLN’s management systems, as well as updates on algorithms to use in

GPLN according to GAPIII requirements and on implementing the Expansion Plan of Environmental

Surveillance of polioviruses.

Finally, a round table about plans for specimen/isolates referral post-switch and the legacy and ori-

entation of the post-eradication RPLN were presented. At the end of the meeting the GLC and

RLC presented the main conclusions, recommendations and next steps of the lab network.

Page 12

Global Immunization News (GIN) May 2016

GAP-III Biorisk Management Training for Polio Lab Network

Gloria Rey Benito and Andrea Villalobos, PAHO-Washington, DC

Location: Cartagena, Colombia

Date: 13-15 April 2016

Participants: 15 participants: nine of the eleven representatives from

the Regional Polio Laboratory Network, including the

Malbran Institute (Argentina), Fiocruz (Brazil), Evandro

Chagas Institute (Brazil), the National Health Institute

(Colombia), the Public Health Institute (Chile), the Insti-

tute for Epidemiologic Diagnosis and Reference

(Mexico), the Centers for Disease Control and Preven-

tion (United States-CDC), National Institute of Hygiene

“Rafael Rangel” (Venezuela), and the Caribbean Public

Health Agency (CARPHA); representatives from the

World Health Organization (WHO) and representa-

tives from the Pan American Health Organization

(PAHO).

Participants at the GAP-III Biorisk Management

Training for the Polio Lab Network in Cartagena, Colombia, from 13-15 April 2016. Photo credit: Alexandria San Jose, PAHO-Washington, DC.

Purpose: • Present the basis for a Biorisk Management Standard in the context of the WHO Global Action

Plan to Minimize Poliovirus Facility-Associated Risk after Type-Specific Eradication of Wild Po-

lioviruses and Sequential Cessation of OPV Use (GAP III) to polio laboratories from the Region of

the Americas • Present and discuss implementation of the Containment Certification Scheme (CCS) for poliovirus

essential facilities.

Details: The workshop addressed the actions recommended in GAP-III to minimize poliovirus facility-

associated risk after the type-specific eradication of wild polioviruses and the sequential cessation of

oral polio vaccine (OPV) use. This course aims to provide the participants with an understanding of the background to GAP III,

including the current status of the eradication program and associated overview information; how

GAP III needs to be implemented, its potential impact and timeliness; general GAP III requirements;

biosafety and biosecurity management system principles and concepts for GAP III; how the associat-

ed assessment and certification mechanism may function. During the workshop, all of the core components of the Biorisk Management Standard for essential

poliovirus facilities were extensively discussed and supported with practical exercise to facilitate

their comprehension: Biorisk Management System Risk Assessment Poliovirus Inventory and Information General Safety Personnel and Competency Good Microbiological Technique Clothing and Personal Protective Equipment Human Factors Health Care Emergency Response and Contingency Planning Accident/Incident Investigation Facility Physical Requirements Equipment and Maintenance Decontamination, Disinfection and Sterilization Transport Procedures Security At the end of the meeting the WHO representative shared the draft of the Containment Certifica-

tion Scheme with participants, this document is open to comments before final approval by May

2016.

Global Immunization News (GIN) May 2016

Page 13

Course on ESAVI Monitoring and Vaccine Safety Given in Brazil

Maria Angélica Gomes and Samia Samad, PAHO-Brazil; Sandra Deotti and Regina Célia Mendes, Ministry of Health-

Brazil; Barbara Marinho and Maria de Lourdes Ribeiro, Secretariat for Indigenous Health (SESAI)

Location: Ceará, Brazil

Date: 20 April 2016

Participants: 350 health professionals: 300 Cuban doctors and

50 Brazilian doctors, nurses and technical staff.

Purpose: To broaden participation from the doctors in the

“Mais Médicos” programme, who are working in

Brazil’s indigenous areas for Vaccination Month

for Indigenous Populations (MVPI), update them

on monitoring ESAVIs; train doctors on

diagnosing and recording suspected cases of

adverse ESAVIs, provide conditions for

immediate reporting and keep the weekly

information on positive or negative reporting

during the MVPI updated.

Example of Powerpoint slide used during ESAVI training course.

Location of the Special Indigenous Health Districts, Brazil.

Indigenous Health District in Ceará. Photo credit: PAHO-

Brazil.

Details: This year, the coordination team for Brazil’s “Mais Médicos” programme requested support from

the immunization team in PAHO-Brazil to prepare, along with the Secretariat for Indigenous Health

(SESAI) and Brazil’s National Immunization Programme, a course on monitoring events supposedly

attributable to vaccination or immunization (ESAVI) to update the doctors that work in indigenous

areas. The MVPI aims to update the vaccination schedule and vaccinate approximately 600,000 indigenous

people against influenza from 1,373 villages. Approximately 3,500 health professionals from 34

Special Indigenous Health Districts are involved in these vaccination efforts. Guaranteeing the promotion of equity and integrated activities, as well as ensuring that individuals

have access to the powers of protection through vaccination and vaccine safety, the training was

organized as part of an integrated work activity. An objective of the course was to develop and strengthen technical competency to ensure vaccine

safety and to implement quick responses to any matter of concern within the target population. The course was divided into seven modules: introduction, objectives and methodology, the national

ESAVI surveillance system, research, defining and classifying ESAVIs, rumor impact, cold chain

structure and its impact on the process of vaccine safety, norms and procedures of vaccine

administration and good practices of safe injections and guidance on the ESAVI reporting sheet and

negative reporting. The methodology utilized for the course was presented online, using Powerpoint presentations and

tests at the beginning and end of the course. Feedback from participants was positive and more

courses will be requested, so those that are still in areas with limited access can have the

opportunity for constant action.

Page 14

Global Immunization News (GIN) May 2016

First meeting of the global network of NITAGs

Alex Adjagba, Antoinette Ba-Nguz, Laura Davison and Louise Henaff, The AMP-HPID Center); Kaushik

Banerjee, Philippe Duclos, Kamel Senouci and Isabelle Wachsmuth, WHO Headquarters

Location: Veyrier-du-lac, France

Date: 11-12 May 2016

Participants: A total of 26 National Immunization Technical

Advisory Group (NITAG) chairs and secretari-

ats from all over the world participated in this

meeting organized by the Agence de Medicine

Preventive’s Health Policy and Institutional De-

velopment Center (AMP-HPID) (a WHO Col-

laborating Centre on evidence-informed im-

munization policy-making): Albania, Argentina,

Australia, Burkina Faso, Canada, Costa Rica,

Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, France, Indonesia, Malawi,

Moldova, Mozambique, Nepal, Netherlands,

Panama, Philippines, Portugal, Saudi Arabia,

Senegal, Sudan, Sweden, Tunisia, Uganda, Unit-

ed Kingdom, Vietnam. Other organizations ac-

tively involved in the meeting included WHO,

US-CDC Global Immunization Division and

USAID.

Participants at the first meeting of the global network of NITAGs

Purpose: 1. To agree on the structure of a global NITAG

network and the types of activities it will en-

gage in 2. To define a plan for collaboration on evalua-

tion of NITAGs

Details: For the first time, representatives of NITAGs from all WHO regions gathered together to discuss

collaboration between themselves. During the first day of the meeting, participants reviewed the existing regional networks of

NITAGs and the tools that can foster experience sharing among NITAGs. Participants strongly

expressed the need for a global network of NITAGs together with their commitment to be part

of it and the urge to learn from one another. In working groups, participants discussed the objec-

tives, structure and terms of reference of such a global network. In plenary, consensus was

reached on a strategic document summarizing the network’s structure, terms of reference and

next steps. The evaluation of NITAGs was the central theme of the second day. AMP-HPID presented a tool

developed to help NITAGs review the functionality, processes and impact of their committees.

The NITAGs of Cote d'Ivoire and Armenia shared their experiences on evaluation. It was agreed

that a pool of NITAG evaluators could be trained to support evaluation activities. This meeting is an important milestone enabling NITAGs from all around the world to share ex-

periences and challenges, build capacity and support the growing momentum of NITAG establish-

ment.

Global Immunization News (GIN) May 2016

Page 15

Poliovirus biorisk management training

Maria Iakovenko, WHO Regional Office for Europe

Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Date: 17–20 May 2016

Participants: WHO Regional Office for Europe, WHO head-

quarters, WHO Regional Office for Africa, Eu-

ropean Centre for Disease Prevention and

Control , United Nations Children’s Organiza-

tion, United States Centers for Disease Con-

trol and Prevention, Bill and Melinda Gates

Foundation

Purpose: To provide national poliovirus containment

coordinators and representatives of candidate

poliovirus containment facilities with a more

thorough understanding of the steps required

to implement the WHO global action plan to

minimize poliovirus facility-associated risk after type

-specific eradication of wild polioviruses and sequen-

tial cessation of OPV use (GAPIII). Topics includ-

ed:

GAP III requirements for national physical con-

tainment and biorisk management systems; principles and concepts of biosafety and the

biosecurity management system; laboratory assessment and the laboratory certi-

fication mechanism.

Participants at the WHO/Europe poliovirus biorisk management

training

Details: Containment of polioviruses, as laid out in GAP III, is taking place in three phases linked to global

milestones in the polio eradication. Current (Phase 1) activities are focused on containment of wild

type 2 polioviruses (WPV2) and vaccine-derived polioviruses (VDPV2) as well as on the preparation

for the containment of vaccine polioviruses of type 2 (OPV/Sabin2). The European Region has completed the first step, which requires Member States to provide national inventories of all facilities hosting wild polioviruses (WPV); destroy all unneeded

WPV2 materials or designate a Poliovirus Essential Facility (PEF) and accordingly a National Authority

for Containment (NAC) tasked with national certification of the PEF. WHO/Europe organized the poliovirus biorisk management training courses for representatives from

all 13 Member States in the European Region intending to keep type 2 wild poliovirus (WPV2) or

vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV2) for research or vaccine manufacturing purposes. Limiting the number of facilities certified to hold poliovirus will help minimize the risk of wild po-

liovirus transmission from the laboratory to the community. The training therefore helped each

country weigh the benefits and risks of retaining poliovirus against the benefits and costs of facility

certification and permanent monitoring.

Page 16

Global Immunization News (GIN) May 2016

Resources MSF video on challenges to vaccinate children viewed almost two million times François Servranckx, Médecins sans frontière

MSF released a video to talk about the challenges to vaccinate

children in the field. This video aimed at bringing the message

closer to people who are not familiar with the logistic and

security challenges, was viewed by almost two million people.

2015 Gavi Full Country Evaluations Report published Sonjelle Shilton and Alba Vilajeliu, Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance

The Full Country Evaluations (FCE) undertaking is a prospective evaluation of the full results framework from in-

puts to impact across all phases of Gavi support, conducted in Bangladesh, Mozambique, Uganda, and Zambia

starting in 2013. The FCE’s goal is to identify, examine, and quantify barriers

to, and drivers of, immunization programme improvement, with emphasis on

Gavi support. The evaluation is carried out by a consortium led by the Insti-

tute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), in partnership with PATH and

in-country organizations.

The FCE uses a mixed methods approach which includes; resource tracking

studies to generate estimates of national-level resource envelopes on immun-

ization, process evaluation, analysis of Health Management Information Sys-

tems (HMIS), health facility surveys, household surveys, analysis of secondary

data to generate small-area estimates of vaccine coverage and child mortality

at subnational levels, and vaccine effectiveness studies.

The first annual dissemination report (2013) evaluated the introduction pro-

cess of pneumococcal vaccine in Mozambique, Uganda, and Zambia, and the

second annual dissemination report (2014) evaluated multiple Gavi support

streams in all four countries. The third annual dissemination report (2015)

which focuses on new vaccine introductions, human papillomavirus vaccine,

health systems strengthening, programmatic and financial capacity, and technical assistance, is now available. Dis-

semination meetings have taken place at the country level in all FCE countries and at global level.

Previous findings from the FCE have been used at global and country level to inform decisions to improve immun-

ization programmes. At the global level Gavi used FCE findings in the revision of Gavi’s guidelines and to inform

the design and review of Gavi policies and processes. At country level, the findings have been used to inform the

decision to apply for new vaccine support and the design and development of new applications to Gavi including

Health System Strengthening (HSS) grants.

All Full Country Evaluation reports available at this link.

Global Immunization News (GIN) May 2016

Page 17

Summary Tables of WHO Routine Immunization Recommendations Updates Tracey Goodman, WHO Headquarters

The Summary Tables of WHO Routine Immunization Recommendations have been updated to reflect the latest pub-

lished WHO recommendations, including:

Pertussis vaccines: WHO Position Paper – August 2015

Polio vaccines: WHO Position Paper – March 2016

Dengue vaccines: SAGE April 2016 Meeting Report (a longer version of the SAGE Meeting Report will be pub-

lished in WER on 29 May 2016) and the Dengue vaccines: WHO Position Paper (forthcoming in July 2016)

The latest versions (21 May 2016) of the Summary Tables (available in both French and English) can be downloaded

from the WHO website. As these tables are updated periodically, it is always best to go to the website for the most

recent version.

The User's Guide to the Summary Tables has been developed as a companion piece to help orientate users of the

summary tables.

What are the purposes of this guide?

• To raise awareness that the full spectrum of WHO recommendations for routine immunization are available in four

summary tables.

• To explain how the summary tables can be used at country level to review and possibly modify a national immuniza-

tion schedule so that it has greater impact and efficiency.

• To highlight practical and operational issues that country decision-makers should consider when making a change to

the national immunization schedule.

The Summary Tables are intended for use by national immunization managers and key decision-makers, chairs of na-

tional advisory committees on immunization, and partner organizations, including industry.

Page 18

Global Immunization News (GIN) May 2016

Calendar 2016

June

1-2 10th African Rotavirus Symposium, Reaching every child with rotavirus vaccines Bamako, Mali

6-10 7th Meeting of South-East Asia Regional Immunization Technical Advisory Group

(SEAR-ITAG) & EPI Managers' meeting

New Delhi, India

9-10 Gavi AFRO West and Regional Working Group meeting Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

14-16 AFRO E&S Gavi Regional Working Group meeting Nairobi, Kenya

20-24 Accelerating Progress towards Measles and Rubella Control and Elimination and

The 12th Global Measles Rubella Laboratory Network (GMRLN) meeting

Geneva, Switzerland

22-23 Gavi Board Meeting Geneva, Switzerland

July

4-8 EURO Intercountry Joint Appraisal Regional Working Group TBD

25-29 WPRO Technical Advisory Group & Regional Working Group Meeting TBD

August

23-24 Eighth WHO meeting on development of influenza vaccines that induce broadly

protective and long-lasting immune responses

Chicago, USA

30Aug-

1Sep

7th Biregional Meeting on the Prevention and Control of Japanese Encephalitis Manila, Philippines

September

4-7 10th Vaccine Congress Colombo, Sri Lanka

7-9 Twelfth International Rotavirus Symposium Melbourne, Australia

12-14 AFRO IST Central - EPI Managers meeting Cameroon

12-15 Regional Committee for EURO Copenhagen, Denmark

19-21 AFRO IST West - EPI Managers meeting TBD

26-28 AFRO IST East & South - EPI Managers meeting Harare, Zimbabwe

26-30 Regional Committee for the Americas Washington DC, USA

October

3-6 Regional Committee for EMRO Cairo, Egypt

10-14 16th European Technical Advisory Group of Experts (ETAGE) TBD

12-14 Regional Committee for WPRO Manila, Philippines

18-20 Meeting of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization Geneva, Switzerland

24-26 5th Meeting of the European Regional Verification Commission (RVC) for Measles

and Rubella Elimination

TBD

November

2-3 EURO Regional NITAG meeting TBD

17-18 TAG meeting WHO/PATH Maternal Influenza Immunization Project Geneva, Switzerland

December

7-8 Gavi Board Meeting TBD

8-9 AFRO Technical Advisory Group Brazzaville, DRC

Page 19

WHO Regional Websites Routine Immunization and New Vaccines (AFRO)

Immunization (PAHO)

Vaccine-preventable diseases and immunization (EMRO)

Vaccines and immunization (EURO)

Immunization (SEARO)

Immunization (WPRO)

Newsletters Immunization Monthly update in the African Region (AFRO) Immunization Newsletter (PAHO) The Civil Society Dose (GAVI CSO Constituency) TechNet Digest RotaFlash (PATH) Gavi Programme Bulletin (Gavi)

Organizations and Initiatives American Red Cross Child Survival Agence de Médecine Préventive Africhol EpiVacPlus LOGIVAC Project National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups Resource Center SIVAC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Polio Global Vaccines and Immunization Johns Hopkins International Vaccine Access Center Vaccine Information Management System JSI Africa Routine Immunization Systems Essentials Project IMMUNIZATIONbasics Immunization Center Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program (MCHIP) PAHO ProVac Initiative PATH Vaccine Resource Library Rotavirus Vaccine Access and Delivery Malaria Vaccine Initiative Meningitis Vaccine Project RHO Cervical Cancer

Sabin Vaccine Institute Sustainable Immunization Financing UNICEF Immunization Supplies and Logistics USAID Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program WHO Department of Immunization, Vaccines & Biologicals New and Under-utilized Vaccines Implementation ICO Information Centre on HPV and Cancer Immunization financing Immunization service delivery Immunization surveillance, assessment and monitoring SIGN Alliance Other Coalition Against Typhoid Dengue Vaccine Initiative European Vaccine Initiative Gardasil Access Program Gavi the Vaccine Alliance International Association of Public Health Logisticians International Vaccine Institute Measles & Rubella Initiative Multinational Influenza Seasonal Mortality Study Network for Education and Support in Immunisation (NESI) TechNet-21 Vaccines Today

UNICEF Regional Websites Immunization (Central and Eastern Europe)

Immunization (Eastern and Southern Africa)

Immunization (South Asia)

Immunization (West and Central Africa)

Child survival (Middle East and Northern Africa)

Health and nutrition (East Asia and Pacific)

Health and nutrition (Americas)

Links

Global Immunization News (GIN) May 2016