“Immunisation for All is Humanly Possible.”

Freetown, 2 May 2025 – The Government of Sierra Leone, in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC), Gavi – the Vaccine Alliance, Africa CDC, World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF,  and a broad coalition of health partners, commemorated African Vaccination Week (AVW) 2025 under the compelling theme: “Immunisation for All is Humanly Possible.”

Sierra Leone, which continues to demonstrate strong leadership in public health, has achieved over 90% coverage with the third dose of the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine (DTP3), a benchmark for immunization system performance.

From 24 April –  02 May 2025, Sierra Leone joined other African countries in marking the 15th edition of AVW, an initiative led by WHO to promote vaccination as a basic human right and an essential tool to prevent disease and save lives. The campaign culminated in a High-Level Event in Freetown hosted by Vice President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh and Health Minister Dr. Austin Demby, alongside senior officials from the AUC, WHO, UNICEF, and Gavi.

Across Africa, millions of children remain unvaccinated, largely due to systemic inequities and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, the ‘Big Catch-Up’ initiative has vaccinated over 5 million previously unreached African children since its launch in 2023, with DTP3 coverage in the region increasing from 72% to 74%.

Speaking at the event, Professor Julio Rakotonirina, Director for Health and Humanitarian Affairs at the African Union Commission, underscored the significance of collective action:

“This year’s Africa Vaccination Week reminds us that saving lives through immunization is not only possible — it is our responsibility. A self-reliant Africa where every country has the capacity to produce, deliver, and equitably distribute vaccines is not only humanly possible — it is non-negotiable.”

He reiterated the African Union’s commitment to the Addis Declaration on Immunization, Agenda 2063, and CARMMA Plus (2021–2030)– continental frameworks that position immunization at the heart of health equity, resilience, and sustainable development.

“Immunization is a key investment in human capital and poverty reduction,” he added. “As we work together with partners and governments, our mission is clear: reach the zero-dose child, close the immunization gap, and build resilient health systems that leave no one behind.”

Minister of Health, Dr. Austin Demby, emphasized Sierra Leone’s progress and ambition:

“Immunisation is a cornerstone of our public health system. We are committed to ensuring that no child in Sierra Leone is left behind. Together, we can protect every life, because immunisation for all is humanly possible.”

UNICEF Representative Rudolf Schwenk stated:

“Vaccines are one of the most effective ways to give every child a fair chance at a healthy future. UNICEF is proud to work with the Government of Sierra Leone and partners to ensure no child is left behind.”

Gavi CEO Dr. Sania Nishtar applauded Sierra Leone’s leadership:

“Sierra Leone has maintained progress on routine immunization even while introducing new vaccines and responding to disease outbreaks. Gavi is committed to this partnership, helping to protect more children and support the country’s sustainable development.”

With over US$200 million in Gavi support since 2001, Sierra Leone has expanded its routine immunization program to include vaccines against rotavirus, pneumococcal disease, HPV, polio, measles, rubella, yellow fever, cholera, and malaria. The country has also launched successful preventive Ebola and mpox vaccination campaigns.

WHO Representative Dr. George Ameh reaffirmed:

“This African Vaccination Week, we reaffirm our commitment to working alongside the Government and partners to ensure that every person in Sierra Leone, regardless of where they live, has access to these life-saving interventions.”

During African Vaccination Week, Sierra Leone:

• Conducted outreach campaigns and mobile vaccination drives to reach underserved areas and hard-to-reach populations.
• Supported catch-up vaccination initiatives to ensure children and adolescents receive missed doses.
• Engaged parents, caregivers, traditional leaders, and health workers through public education and community mobilization to strengthen vaccine awareness.
• Promoted vaccine confidence and tackled misinformation to ensure informed decision-making across communities.

With continued partner support, Sierra Leone is investing in cold chain infrastructure, health worker training, and solarization of health facilities, strengthening its capacity to deliver vaccines and improve health outcomes nationwide.

Together, we will ensure that every person in Africa, no matter where they live- has access to the vaccines they need to survive and thrive. Immunisation for all is not just a goal; it is Humanly Possible.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia –  From 24-30 April 2024, the African continent commenced the commemoration of the  African Vaccination Week (AVW), which brings yearly celebrations the last week of April.

This year’s commemoration coincides with the celebration of 50 years of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), marking collective efforts to save and improve countless lives from vaccine-preventable diseases. It calls on countries to increase investments in immunization programs to protect future generations. There has been significant progress across the continent with increased vaccination rates and reduced child mortality, enabling every vaccinated child to survive and thrive.

This year’s Africa Vaccination Week creates an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of vaccines and promote vaccination across the life course, reducing mortality due to vaccine-preventable diseases. The theme for this year, “Humanly Possible: Saving Lives Through Immunization”, highlights the need to intensify efforts to save lives through immunization. This can be done through routine immunization programmes and catch-up vaccination campaigns in the continent.

To scale up and bring the continent back on track to achieve Agenda 2063 and SDG2030 goals, heightened political commitment and multi-stakeholder collaboration to reach underserved communities is urgent. In 2016, the Heads of State and Governments of African Union Member States endorsed the Addis Ababa Declaration on Immunization (Assembly/AU/Dec.624 (XXVIII), prioritizing access to safe and effective vaccines. Subsequently, in 2017, The African Union Heads of State and Government called on Member States to mount strong advocacy campaigns to achieve the goals of the Global Vaccine Action Plan and improve overall healthcare delivery systems.

Increased investments in primary health care will bring services closer to communities, making it easier to reach the marginalized. Investing in human resources for health, surveillance and improvements in health information systems is also critical. Multi-stakeholder collaborations to deal with misinformation and build 

and sustain community demand while addressing gender barriers will increase coverage, prevent diseases, and save lives.

The African Union Commission, Africa CDC, GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF, and WHO applaud efforts by African Member States in promoting access to vaccination at various levels of care and continue to encourage scaling up routine immunization services on the continent.

The African Union and the aforementioned partners will continue to support the Member States in raising awareness of the importance of vaccines and immunization and call on other stakeholders to continue supporting and prioritizing vaccination in Member States. It is critical to work collaboratively with Member States, partners, stakeholders, donors, and other entities to ensure that vaccination programs are adequately financed and resourced in all countries. And promote innovative initiatives that enhance access to and support for vaccines, thereby contributing to the overall goal of saving lives through immunization.

This year the African Union Commission, Africa CDC, GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF and WHO want to reiterate the importance of immunization and the achievements of yearly Vaccination Week in raising awareness about immunization and encouraging participation while jointly holding a high-level event in commemoration of the achievements of AU Member States in immunization linking it to the 50th anniversary of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) in 2024 and launch an African progress report on the 10 commitments of the Addis Ababa Declaration on Immunization. Social media campaigns towards the year will also be aimed at raising awareness about immunization and encouraging participation.

These activities will:

1. Raise awareness about the importance of immunization in saving lives and achieving health goals.
2. Emphasize the commitment of African Member States to prioritize immunization and ensure adequate resources for vaccination programs.
3. Highlight the achievements and challenges in immunization over the past 50 years and the way forward.
4. Promote collaboration and partnerships for advancing immunization efforts across Africa.

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 11 March 2024 – The African Union Commission through the Department of Health, Humanitarian Affairs, and Social Development in coordination with the East Africa Community launches the CARMMA plus campaign to provide an opportunity for the East Africa Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to convene stakeholders and galvanize their countries ownership and leadership as well as technical and financial support to the campaign. The launch is taking place alongside the Eastern Africa Regional Early Childhood Conference scheduled from 11-14 March 2024 in the United Republic of Tanzania under the theme: “Investing in early childhood: Building Human Capital along life course.” 

This launch intends primarily to advocate for ongoing improved reproductive health for women, children, and adolescents by 2030 within all EAC partner States. Specifically, to:

1. Sensitize stakeholders on the Agenda of CARMMA Plus and galvanize East Africa Community region ownership and leadership to enforce accountability. 
2. Generate sustained momentum for stakeholders’ efforts in the EAC region and emphasize their contributions to Reproductive Maternal, Newborn/Neonatal ,Child and Adolescent (RMNCAH) and to improve reproductive health outcomes for women, children, and adolescents by 2030.
3. Strengthen coordination mechanisms between the Ministry of Health in the EAC region. 
4. Encourage scaled-up investments through increased domestic resources for RMNCAH by sharing experiences and best practices from EAC Partner States.

The campaign on accelerated reduction of maternal mortality in Africa (CARMMA) was first launched in May 2009. It is an initiative of the African Union Commission (AUC) that aimed at  curbing  high pregnancy-related deaths, promote and advocate for renewed and intensified implementation of the 2006 Maputo Plan of Action (MPoA) to reduce maternal, newborn, and child mortality by improving health outcomes for African women and children. It was designed to use policy dialogue, advocacy, and community mobilization to enlist political commitment and increase resources and societal change in support of Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (MNCH). 

In 2019, the African Union Commission evaluated the CARMMA campaign to determine its relevance, appropriateness, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability. The evaluation revealed that African Union Member States that embraced the campaign at the highest political levels made significant improvements in their Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) indicators. The overall analysis of the campaign from its evaluation indicated that CARMMA is still relevant in Africa.

The Commission through the Department of Health, Humanitarian Affairs, and Social Development developed a new roadmap and its accountability partnership framework for re-strengthening the campaign, which has been endorsed by the AU Policy Organs in 2022. The next phase of implementation of the CARMMA Plus 2021 -2030 focuses on the unfinished Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) health agenda for women, new-borns, children, and adolescents that birth the “Plus to CARMMA” to be entitled CARMMA Plus taking into account Africa’s transformative Agenda 2063, the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the revised African Health Strategy 2016-2030, and the revised Maputo Plan of Action (2016-2030) for women and children as well as the AU continental Strategy on education for health and wellbeing of young people.

The CARMMA Plus campaign will focus on four key objectives: 1. broaden and strengthen accountability partnerships for RMNCAH, 2. enhance leadership and governance for RMNCAH policies and quality of services, 3. improve SRHR outcomes for adolescents through increased access to information, and services, and 4. finally strengthen knowledge management and learning systems.

“Advancing Universal Vaccine Access: A Renewed Call for Political and Financial Commitment to Immunization Across Africa”

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – February 16, 2025 – The African Union Commission (AUC), in collaboration with the Republic of Sierra Leone, Africa Centres for Disease Control and prevention( Africa CDC), UNICEF, GAVI, Global Health Strategies, PATH, WHO  and other key global health partners, successfully convened a High-Level Side Event on Immunization under the theme “Reaffirming Africa’s Commitment to Immunization: A Call for Action to Strengthen Health Systems.” The event was held on the margins of the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union at the Sheraton Hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The event provided a strategic platform to reflect on the progress of the Addis Ababa Declaration on Immunization (ADI), endorsed by the 28th Assembly of the AU Heads of states  in 2017(Assembly/AU/Dec.624(XXVIII). Leaders assessed the advancements made across Africa in achieving universal immunization coverage and discussed the challenges hindering vaccine access, particularly in vulnerable communities. The gathering also marked the presentation of the final ADI Progress Report (2017-2022), reinforcing the necessity for sustained political and financial commitments towards immunization programs.

Key Highlights

• Reaffirming Political Will: His Excellency Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, underscored that immunization is fundamental to national security and economic resilience. He called on African leaders to move beyond commitments and take decisive action in strengthening vaccine accessibility across the continent.
• Call for Increased Domestic Investments: The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) emphasized the importance of prioritizing local vaccine production and research to reduce reliance on external sources. The African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator (AVMA), launched in June 2024, was highlighted as a major initiative to bolster Africa’s self-sufficiency in vaccine production.
• Strengthening Partnerships: Representatives from WHO, UNICEF, Gavi, PATH, and other global health partners reaffirmed their commitment to supporting African governments in improving immunization coverage, addressing funding gaps, and combating vaccine-preventable diseases.
• Addressing Zero-Dose Children: While significant progress has been made, 6.7 million African children remain unvaccinated. There is an urgency of reaching these zero-dose children to ensure no child is left behind in Africa’s immunisation leadership efforts quoted by Ms. Etleve Kadili and other Leaders emphasized that
• Immunization remains a core strategy to prevent infectious diseases and to improve childhood survival.
• Commitment to Universal Immunization: Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, Acting Director of the WHO for the Africa Region, stressed that investing in immunization is not only a health imperative but also a catalyst for economic development, preventing millions of deaths annually and reducing healthcare costs.

Call to Action

The event concluded with a strong Call to Action, urging African Heads of State, Ministers of Health, Finance, and Development Partners to:

• Prioritize immunization as a cornerstone of Africa’s Agenda 2063 and ensure sustainable domestic financing for vaccine programs.
• Strengthen regional vaccine manufacturing capacities to enhance supply chain resilience and self-reliance.
• Implement innovative strategies to reach underserved populations, including refugees and remote communities.
• Leverage public-private partnerships to drive sustainable immunization advocacy and financing mechanisms.

“Now is the time to act with urgency. Immunization is a shared responsibility, and we must work collectively to protect millions of children, build resilient health systems, and ensure universal vaccine access across Africa,” stated President Bio. 

As Africa looks toward a future of health security and pandemic preparedness, the reaffirmation of immunization commitments remains a pivotal step in building a stronger, healthier continent for all.