This was achieved through sensitisation of livestock-keeping communities to present target animals in pre-identified vaccination sites and pre-positioning of cold chains in strategic field location for vaccine storage during the vaccination campaigns.
Furthermore, using a 2-dose schedule may alleviate not only issues related to overall vaccination budget (also including e.g. administration, vaccine storage, transportation, …) but additionally increase acceptability and hence compliance of the vaccine.
4 Interventions to improve vaccination outcomes are commonly categorised either as targeting health services delivery or supply (eg, improving human resources training and supervision, logistics, cold chain maintenance and vaccine storage), or demand for vaccines.
Vaccine receipt, storage, cold chain maintenance, preparation, distribution, and stock management were handled by the pharmacy team with 12 persons on a rotating schedule for seven days per week coverage during the entire three-month vaccination period.
Most HCPs reported having sufficient time to provide vaccination and having adequate storage facilities; however, adequacy of reimbursement was an issue for physicians and pharmacists (but not nurses).
But, if you have a problem with, for example, storage of vaccinations for children, the impact could be on hundreds of patients.
But now UNICEF is helping the Government restore these vital services by supplying vaccinations, syringes, essential cold storage equipment as well as training paediatricians and health workers.
Another problem was maintaining a reliable cold chain delivery system: getting vaccines to village-level vaccination centres meant removing them from refrigerated storage for transport, exposing them to high temperatures, thus risking losing their potency.
Next year, results are expected for newborns, which are crucial, because the three-dose vaccine, which needs cold storage, must be incorporated into the routine infant vaccination schedule.
