Retrouver les enfants congolais non-vaccinés: des acteurs de tout le pays lancent le premier Accélérateur zéro-dose pour renforcer la mise en oeuvre et le suivi

Reda SadkiGlobal health

«Si je réussis mon projet de terrain, je m’attends à avoir au moins vacciné 345 enfants». Cet engagement n’a pas été pris par un ministre dans la capitale, mais par Jérémie Mpata Lumpungu, infirmier titulaire dans la province du Kasaï. Il n’était pas seul. Lundi 10 novembre 2025, un appel a résonné à travers la République démocratique du Congo. Depuis Kinshasa, le Dr Josaphat-Francois WETSHIKOY, épidémiologiste, a détaillé son objectif pour les 21 prochains jours: «récupérer 30 % des enfants» non vaccinés dans sa zone cible de 230 000. Barthélemy Daké Saoromou, préparant une stratégie mobile, vise «plus de 500 enfants zéro dose». Cette détermination palpable, venue de praticiens de tout le pays, a marqué le lancement de l’«Accélérateur d’impact zéro-dose». Il ne s’agit pas d’une formation ou d’un atelier de plus. C’est une nouvelle phase d’action, un «système de soutien» pour la mise en oeuvre et le suivi, conçu par …

50 years of the Expanded Programme on Immunization

50 years of the Expanded Programme on Immunization

Reda SadkiGlobal health

In two articles published during the fiftieth year of the World Health Organization’s Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), Samarasekera and Shattock provide valuable insights into EPI’s remarkable impact on reducing childhood mortality and morbidity since its launch in 1974. Shattock et al. present a detailed quantitative analysis of the lives saved and health gains attributed to vaccination. They estimate that “since 1974, vaccination has averted 154 million deaths, including 146 million among children younger than 5 years of whom 101 million were infants younger than 1 year.”  The authors further emphasize the long-term benefits of vaccination, noting that “for every death averted, 66 years of full health were gained on average, translating to 10.2 billion years of full health gained.” These findings underscore the transformative impact of the Expanded Programme on Immunization on global health outcomes. Bill Moss of the International Vaccines Access Center (IVAC) calls this “one of humankind’s …

Overcoming barriers to vaccine acceptance in the community: Key learning from the experiences of 734 frontline health workers

What works in practice to build vaccine confidence?

Reda SadkiGlobal health

This is the content of a poster about vaccine confidence presented today by The Geneva Learning Foundation (LinkedIn | YouTube | Podcast | X/Twitter) at the International Social and Behavior Change Communication Summit 2022 (#SBCCSummit) held 5-9 December 2022 in Marrakech, Morocco. What is the Geneva Learning Foundation? Get the full report… Read the preface by Heidi Larson… Vaccine confidence: from responding to the initial shock of the pandemic to preparing COVID-19 vaccine introduction Over 6,000 health professionals joined the COVID-19 Peer Hub in July 2022, part of the Geneva Learning Foundation’s (TGLF) global immunization learning-to-action platform. We asked a simple question in relation to vaccine confidence: Can you think of a time when you helped an individual or group overcome their initial reluctance, hesitancy, or fear about vaccination? Who participated? Local practitioners from 86 countries joined this peer learning exercise about vaccine confidence: Health system levels: So what? What was the significance of the experience for participants? …

Heidi Larson: “So much remains determined by the capacity of people on the frontlines to explain, advocate, and respond in ways that are almost entirely dictated by context”

Reda SadkiGlobal health

This is the preface by Heidi Larson for the report “Overcoming barriers to vaccine acceptance in the community: Key learning from the experiences of 734 frontline health workers”. This report is presented today by The Geneva Learning Foundation (LinkedIn | YouTube | Podcast | Twitter) at the International Social and Behavior Change Communication Summit 2022 (#SBCCSummit) held 5-9 December 2022 in Marrakech, Morocco. What is the Geneva Learning Foundation? Get the full report… Read the preface by Heidi Larson… My own consciousness of the fragile equilibrium sustaining vaccine confidence came from working with immunization programmes and local health workers to defuse rumors that threatened to derail vaccination initiatives. Twenty years ago, this meant traveling to countries to meet, build relationships with, and work side-by-side with frontliners. Since that time, the corpus of research on the topic has grown tremendously. Elaborate behavioral science frameworks, supported by robust monitoring and evaluation, are now available to guide policy makers, donors, …