Tanzania’s vaccination plan – BORGEN

GEORGETOWN, Canada – Located in northeastern Africa, Tanzania is considered a mountainous, densely forested country known for its famous national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Tanzania’s routine vaccination program has been improving over time.

Immunization Program Overview

Keeping up with Tanzania’s vaccination program is critical and an important part of improving the lives of all the country’s residents. Tanzania established a vaccination program in 1975, known as the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI). After the introduction of the Health Sector Reform (HSR) in 1996, EPI became a subsector of the Reproductive and Child Health Department.

Tanzania’s Vaccination Program (EPI) is considered a vertical programme. Vaccine distribution and maintenance of storage sites have shifted to the focus of the Medical Supplies Division (MSD). The management and monitoring of materials is the responsibility of the central transportation unit, and the evaluation of project data is overseen by the Health Management Information System (HMIS).

The EPI remains in control of “the development of policies, guidelines and standards for strategic planning and budgeting, facilitating the procurement of vaccines, equipment and related supplies, specific training and supervision to ensure quality of services and accelerate disease control activities (polio eradication, measles control) and neonatal tetanus elimination)”.

EPI consists of five main parts, including management, cold chain, monitoring evaluation and organization, routine immunization and training.

Routine vaccination schedule

The goal of Tanzania’s vaccination program is to improve the lives of all Tanzanians. In 2012, they implemented the current vaccination program for common diseases in the country. Since we are not born immune, vaccination can help prevent infection from diseases that affect Tanzanians’ ability to thrive.

The plan outlines the first 14 vaccines designed to prevent the most common causes of illness and death in the community, such as hepatitis B vaccination.

Vaccination program issues

A major issue when considering implementing a vaccine is the lack of appropriate travel storage to keep the vaccine as effective as possible. As the hepatitis B vaccination campaign gets underway, the need for better cold storage has increased in Tanzania as the demand for the vaccine is high and it needs to be kept cold.

Although Tanzania’s vaccination program is high in volume and coverage, communities are very diverse, resulting in uneven coverage across regions. Katavi’s coverage reaches 100%, while Tabora’s coverage is only 80%. In addition to even coverage of physical products, cost is also an issue. Communities often do not have enough funding to support vaccine programs.

Most communities in Tanzania are very isolated and in most cases they look to local leaders as a means of education and guidance. Therefore, USAID needs to have direct contact with some community leaders to influence them to get vaccinated for their own well-being.

you say

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MHSW) and the Council Health Management Team (CHMT) are currently working to expand the availability of the life-saving vaccine to three different regions in Tanzania with high infection rates. Proportion of unvaccinated and unvaccinated children.

USAID has helped train more than 500 health care workers in more than 400 health facilities in three different regions to collect and interpret health data. They are also working with 800 community health workers to improve the vaccination process. Their goal is to educate parents about the importance of immunizations. They are also working on ways to identify children who are eligible for the next vaccine.

in conclusion

With the help of foreign communities and public influence, Tanzania’s vaccination growth has been in a steady growth mode, but it is clear that they need more professionals and better physical equipment to maintain its steady progress.

——Cassandra Johnson
Photo: Wikimedia Commons