The Ministry of Health has extended the ongoing Phase II of the national Yellow Fever Vaccination Campaign, for a period of one week from 8th April, 2024 until 14th April, 2024.
The extension was communicated by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health Dr. Diana Atwine following a successful 7-Day mass vaccination campaign which started on April 2, 2024 targeting 14.4 million people aged between 0 and 60 years in 53 districts of Uganda.
In a statement issued today, Dr. Atwine noted that the goal of the mass preventive vaccination campaigns is to ensure that as many people as possible are vaccinated against Yellow Fever in the shortest possible time thereby reducing the risk of outbreaks, protecting the health and well-being of the Ugandan population.
Despite several health interventions, Dr. Atwine stated that a sizeable chunk of the population in Uganda remain at a risk of catching the disease;
“The Ministry of health would like to inform the public that the Yellow Fever vaccination campaign is a proactive measure being implemented to ensure that the population is protected against Yellow Fever Disease given the country’s position on the Yellow Fever belt. The risk of an outbreak of Yellow Fever remains unless we have reached at least 80% of the population vaccinated thereby minimizing the risk of an outbreak (herd immunity)” She stated.
Yellow Fever is serious viral infection that is spread to humans through a bite from a mosquito carrying the Yellow Fever virus. It causes fever, yellowing of the eyes and bleeding from body openings such as mouth, nose, eyes, ears etc similar to Ebola.
“The Yellow Fever Vaccination Campaign will be extended for a period of one week from 8th April, 2024 until 14th April, 2024. The Yellow Fever vaccine Is safe, effective and provides lifelong protection against Yellow Fever.” The statement adds.
Dr. Atwine also said the ongoing mass vaccination campaign is an opportunity for the Ministry of Health to bridge the gap of communities that have never been vaccinated against Yellow Fever, free of charge. She encouraged parents to consent to Yellow Fever vaccination to protect their children from the deadly Yellow Fever Disease.
The Yellow Fever vaccine is a requirement for International travel and the vaccination card being given during the campaign can be presented to an accredited health facility and a Yellow Fever vaccination booklet valid for travel will be provided at a minimal cost.
“The Yellow Fever vaccine is provided free of charge during this campaign. However, on completion of the national rollout of the vaccination campaign, the Yellow Fever vaccine remains free of charge ONLY for children under 1 year old as part of their routine vaccination. All Individuals above 1 year old will be required to pay In order to receive the Yellow Fever vaccine.” Dr. Atwine added.
Background:
The yellow in the name refers to the jaundice (Nkaka-jaundice) that affects some patients. It has no known treatment and can cause death to 35-50% of affected persons who progress to severe disease. It is managed according to its symptoms. The disease causes significant public health threat. It is spread by the Aedes mosquito which is a day biting mosquito.
The Yellow Fever belt has progressively extended from West Africa where interventions such as Yellow Fever vaccination have been successful. The belt now extends to East Africa, where Uganda lies. The recent confirmed cases of Yellow Fever in Wakiso and Buikwe in 2022 and 2023 respectively serve as a reminder of the need to have everyone protected against Yellow Fever, and vaccination is the most effective method.
The Yellow Fever vaccine has been in existence since 1938. The vaccine is safe and effective. As a result of vaccination, many countries have been able to eliminate Yellow Fever. However, 34 countries in Africa, Uganda inclusive and 13 countries in Central and South America are either endemic for, or have regions that are endemic for Yellow Fever.
In 2017, WHO, UNICEF and GAVI developed the Elimination of Yellow fever Epidemics strategy which is referred to as the EYE strategy. It is a comprehensive and long-term strategy aiming at putting an end to Yellow Fever Epidemics by 2026. It consists of three strategic objectives:
protect at-risk populations;
prevent international spread; and
contain outbreaks rapidly.
In line with global strategy to eliminate Yellow Fever, Uganda introduced Yellow Fever vaccine into routine immunization programme at 9 months in October 2022. In June 2023, the Government rolled out Mass Preventive Yellow Fever Vaccination of the population aged 1 year to 60 years old in order to cater for those that have never been vaccinated against Yellow Fever.
Additionally, the vaccine has been Inaccessible and given to the population at exorbitant costs at private health facilities which at times has led to the forgery of Yellow Fever vaccination booklets for travel purposes.
The Yellow Fever Vaccination campaign is being carried out in a phased manner starting with the districts with the highest prevalence of Yellow Fever. Phase I, the campaign was carried out in June 2023 in 6 regions of the country namely Kigezi, Tooro, Bunyoro, WestNile, Acholi and Lango where 9,421,530 persons were vaccinated (71% of the target population)
Phase II is the one that started on 2nd April 2024 to 8th April 2024 and will cover 5 regions of Karamoja, Teso, Masaka, Ankole and Kampala Metropolitan where 14 million persons aged 1-60 years are being targeted. Round 3 will cover the rest of the country, and is planned for April 2025.