COVID-19 vaccination campaigns in fragile and conflict-affected settings, Somalia

By 31 December 2021, only 5.5% (861 879/15 670 530) of the Somali population had been fully vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

To rapidly increase COVID-19 vaccine coverage in 2022, the health ministry and its partners (World Health Organization and United Nations Children's Fund) adopted a more responsive strategy. This strategy included careful microplanning, better targeting of populations and providing people-centred vaccination services close to their homes. These services were combined with childhood vaccination and basic health-care provision using the existing polio network and community health workers. Additionally, a digital tool for recording COVID-19 vaccination data and a mobile phone-based electronic registration system were introduced.

Somalia, a fragile and conflict-affected state, faced challenges when implementing COVID-19 vaccination, including inexperience in managing mass adult vaccination, inadequate infrastructure and health workforce. Furthermore, insecurity in some areas and severe drought resulted in large-scale displacement of people.

The implementation of a more context-specific strategy helped Somalia reach substantially more people with COVID-19 vaccination and 42.1% coverage by 31 December 2022. Additionally, 84 600 zero-dose children received their first childhood vaccine during the integrated campaigns. The increased coverage has led to public health benefits that outweigh the investment in the COVID-19 vaccination campaigns.

Successful roll-out of adult vaccination is achievable even in a fragile and conflict-affected setting through implementation of a tailored contextualized approach. Key factors include good microplanning, use of digital tools, better population-targeting, bundling vaccines together and delivering vaccination services close to people's homes.