By Modupe Adeniyi. Freelance Health Reporter
Map of Africa showing Angola.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2024. After graduating from medical school in 2012, Fadário had a dream: to help get as many Angolan children vaccinated as possible, reducing vaccine-preventable deaths. Thanks to the joint efforts of government authorities at all levels, national and international partners, civil society and the population, Fadário has witnessed significant achievements in immunization in recent years. Angola was certified as a wild polio-free country in 2015 and introduced new vaccines such as pneumococcus, rotavirus, and the combined measles and rubella vaccine.
Despite this progress, Angola still faces challenges in increasing immunization indicators and reducing vaccine-preventable deaths. The country needs to ensure the effective management of vaccines and vaccination materials to avoid stock-outs and guarantee the availability of vaccines at all posts. Additionally, increasing vaccination coverage of all antigens in all municipalities and implementing supplementary vaccination activities for targeted diseases such as polio, measles and maternal tetanus is crucial. Disruptions associated with COVID-19 vaccination efforts overwhelmed health systems in 2020 and 2021, resulting in dramatic setbacks and leaving many children out of vaccination coverage.
Fadário is acutely aware of these challenges, given his extensive career in the health sector. At the age of 20, he joined the Public Health Department of the Ministry of Health as an immunization technician and in 2001, he became a WHO immunization officer. As a WHO officer, he has worked in various locations in Angola and the Republic of Mozambique.
He recalls with pride the work carried out in Mozambique, where, based on Angola's experience, he supported introducing a model that promoted the participation of other community players in using the polio vaccine, previously exclusive to health technicians. This approach improved community engagement, reduced rejection and significantly increased vaccination coverage in Mozambique. He cites this experience as a perfect example of peer-to-peer country learning, which WHO promotes.
Currently stationed in Benguela province, southern Angola, Fadário is responsible for actively searching for children with Acute Flaccid Paralysis in hospitals and communities, training health workers and other agents participating in detecting public health events and ensuring the training of vaccinators and post-vaccination monitoring teams.
"No child should be left unvaccinated. The vaccine is one of the greatest achievements of medicine, through which we can prevent and protect our children against diseases, particularly polio which causes childhood paralysis," Fadário states.
To vaccinate all children and ensure a polio-free world, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative has defined three crucial strategies also being implemented in Angola: routine immunization with the polio vaccine, supplementary polio immunization activities and surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis.
Angola is successfully implementing these strategies and is on the right track towards maintaining a polio-free status. Dr. Fekadu Lemma, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative Coordinator in Angola, remains unwavering in his confidence. Despite challenges such as high cross-border population movement and several informal crossing points posing risks of importing the polio virus, Angola can expedite immunization and protect all children against polio by integrating polio vaccination with other health interventions and services and ensuring proactive ownership of the vaccination program by local governments.
Despite the persistent challenges to implementing vaccination initiatives for all children, Fadário remains optimistic: It is possible and together, we will ensure a world without polio and without deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases.
Source: World Health Organization Newsroom.
Related:
Published: July 31, 2024
© 2024. Datelinehealth Africa Inc. All rights reserved.
Permission is given to copy, use and share content for non-commercial purposes without alteration or modification and subject to source attribution.
DATELINEHEALTH AFRICA INC., is a digital publisher for informational and educational purposes and does not offer personal medical care and advice. If you have a medical problem needing routine or emergency attention, call your doctor or local emergency services immediately, or visit the nearest emergency room or the nearest hospital. You should consult your professional healthcare provider before starting any nutrition, diet, exercise, fitness, medical or wellness program mentioned or referenced in the DatelinehealthAfrica website. Click here for more disclaimer notice.
