A post-conflict vaccination campaign, Central African Republic

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Vaccinology

Background:

• Conflict in the Central African Republic (2012-2015) led to decreased childhood vaccination rates.
• Mambéré-Kadéï prefecture experienced significantly reduced immunization coverage due to the conflict.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement a preventive, multi-antigen vaccination campaign to rapidly boost childhood immunization.
• To assess the effectiveness of the campaign in a post-conflict setting.

Main Methods:

• A three-round vaccination campaign was conducted from December 2015 to June 2016.
• Administered vaccines included oral poliomyelitis vaccine (OPV), DTP-Hib-hepatitis B, pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), measles, and yellow fever vaccines.
• Collected administrative data and conducted pre- and post-campaign vaccination coverage surveys.

Main Results:

• Over 294,000 vaccine doses were administered.
• First-dose coverage exceeded 85% for OPV, DTP-Hib-hepatitis B, and PCV in children aged 6-59 months.
• First-dose measles coverage reached over 70% in children aged 9-59 months, with second-dose coverage over 58% for OPV, DTP-Hib-hepatitis B, and PCV in younger children.

Conclusions:

• The preventive, multi-antigen vaccination campaign effectively and rapidly increased immunization coverage in a post-conflict environment.
• Sustaining high immunization coverage requires strengthening routine immunization services.