High-level side event at the 36th Ordinary Session 
of the AU assembly of Heads of State and Government
Building momentum for routine immunization recovery in Africa

African Union Headquarters, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - 19 February 2023

OVERVIEW

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused deepfelt devastation to lives and livelihoods. Health systems have come under enormous pressure and essential health services extensively disrupted. Routine childhood immunization was among the key services that suffered huge interruptions, resulting in outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. 

In 2021, the world saw the worst continued decline in routine immunization in 30 years. Within the African continent this has led to increasing outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases. For example, 18 countries in the African region have reported a measles outbreak in 2022, including 5 out of the 9 priority countries. New polio cases have not only re-emerged in African countries2 that had not experienced the virus in decades but has also crossed borders to the United Kingdom, the United States and Israel; sending a message that neglecting routine immunization puts children and communities everywhere at risk of epidemics of vaccine-preventable diseases.

As countries progressively restore essential services, it is critical to not only revamp the services to pre-pandemic levels, but to speed up the progress towards the 2030 global Immunization Agenda of ensuring that everyone, everywhere, at every age fully benefits from vaccines to improve health and well-being.

Download the concept note

OBJECTIVES OF THE SIDE EVENT

The 90-minute side event will convene Heads of State on the margins of the AU Summit in February 2023 and aims to culminate in a signed declaration of commitment by Heads of State to close the gap on immunization in Africa as well as fast-track implementation of the Immunization Agenda 2030 approaches aimed at reducing child mortality, morbidity and disability. The side event plans to achieve the following objectives:

1. To reignite the political will of Africa’s leaders to keep universal access to immunization at the forefront of national recovery efforts to achieve long-term health, economic and development goals.
2. To renew political commitment to supporting investments in strengthening surveillance to detect outbreaks quickly, respond with urgency, and immunize all children who are not yet protected from vaccine-preventable diseases in Africa.
3. To motivate urgent integration of polio functions, assets, innovations and lessons to accelerate last-mile polio eradication action and boost routine immunization capacities on the continent

AFRICAN UNION HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT DECLARATION (DRAFT)

Download the document:

• English
• French
• Portuguese
• Arabic

For feedback on the draft declaration, please contact mulundat@who.int.

EVENT AGENDA

Moderator: Minister of Health of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Honorable Dr Austin Demby

SCORECARDS

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