Health campaigns: monthly highlights

A collection of December 2024 campaign stories captured and curated by Linksbridge

In partnership with the Health Campaign Effectiveness Coalition (a program of The Task Force for Global Health, Inc.), our team curates a monthly roundup of health campaigns worldwide. To access full coverage, sign up today.

For up-to-date worldwide campaign data, visit the coalition's Health Campaigns Intelligence Hub.

Featured stories

Nigeria launched its first malaria vaccination campaign in Kebbi and Bayelsa states on December 2, using 864,200 doses of the R21/Matrix-M vaccine. The exercise targeted children ages 5 months to 15 months with four doses of vaccine given at scheduled intervals. The rollout will expand to 19 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in 2025, with an additional 153,800 doses complementing the initial supply to cover 1 million children.?News Central

Sierra Leone began a nationwide Ebola vaccination campaign in Freetown December 5, targeting 20,000 frontline health workers and people at risk of disease (including first responders, healers, religious leaders and security forces) with the Ervebo vaccine. The campaign—the first of its kind in West Africa—started at health centers and police stations across the capital and will be rolled out across all 16 districts of the country. AP News; France 24

Spotlight on polio campaigns

Pakistan ran its final nationwide polio vaccination campaign of the year December 16-22, targeting 45 million children under 5 with oral polio drops. Thousands of police officers were deployed to safeguard health workers during the house-to-house drive. AP News; PPEP?

Ethiopia in December launched the second round of its nationwide polio vaccination campaign, targeting nearly 6 million children under 5 using nOPV2 across the Addis Ababa, Afar, Amhara, Gambella and Oromia regions. Approximately 160,000 children were immunized in Gambella, including those in refugee camps. Capital

Afghanistan conducted the fifth and final round of its 2024 polio vaccination campaign December 23-25, targeting 5 million children under 5 across 11 of its 34 provinces. EFE; Ariana News

India kicked off a three-day polio immunization campaign on December 8, targeting over 1.9 million children under 5 in seven districts of Jharkhand state: Bokaro, Deoghar, Giridih, Jamtara, Pakur, Ramgarh and Sahibganj. The push deployed 15,464 teams and 1,546 supervisors to administer some 2,455,600 OPV doses at 7,732 vaccination booths as well as door to door. Times of India

Outbreak response

Yemen conducted a nationwide oral cholera vaccination campaign December 7-12, targeting 3.8 million people ages 1 year and above in six governorates: Abyan, Aden, Al-Dhale, Lahj, Marib and Taiz. The door-to-door campaign, supplemented by fixed sites and outreach teams, mobilized 3,672 vaccination teams and 808 supervisors. Teams aimed to vaccinate 200 people per day in urban areas, 180 in rural areas, and 150 in hard-to-reach areas. U.N.; WHO

Ghana held a cholera vaccination campaign in its Western region December 15-19, targeting 641,851 eligible residents ages 2 and above. The outbreak response deployed vaccination teams to churches, mosques, markets, homes and schools in the area’s hardest-hit districts, including Ahanta West, Effia-Kwesimintsim, Sekondi-Takoradi and Shama. According to News Ghana, the Western region has reported over 800 cases with 14 fatalities as of December 2024. News Ghana; CNR

Integrated campaigns

Guinea-Bissau conducted a nationwide measles and rubella vaccination campaign December 6-15, targeting 896,745 children ages 9 months to 14 years. The initiative also offered vitamin A supplements to 335,473 children ages 6 months to 59 months and albendazole deworming treatments to 286,012 children ages 12 months to 59 months. Vaccination teams worked from fixed posts and visited remote areas and public places, including markets and schools. UNICEF

India ran a nutrition-focused drive in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi district December 4-January 3, targeting 388,000 children ages 9 months to 5 years. Children received vitamin A supplementation, iron-fortified syrup, and MR vaccines based on age (and/or weight) at the recommended scheduled intervals. The campaign included weight monitoring, identifying malnourished children, and promoting iodized salt use and six months of exclusive breastfeeding. Times of India

Pakistan ran a Big Catch-up campaign in Azad Jammu and Kashmir December 2-14, targeting at least 16,368 children under 5 with immunizations for 12 childhood diseases, including tuberculosis, hepatitis, pneumonia, measles, typhoid, polio, meningitis and tetanus. Mobile paramedical teams traveled across the region administering the necessary doses. Daily Parliament Times

C?te d’Ivoire launched a weeklong national immunization campaign against measles and polio December 16, targeting children under 5 who missed vaccinations due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The exercise took place across all 113 of the country’s health districts and included vitamin A supplementation. Xinhua

Local campaigns

Senegal ran a nationwide measles and rubella vaccination campaign December 2-11, targeting all of the country’s approximately 7,500,000 children ages 9 months to 14 years. Deploying more than 5,000 immunization teams and more than 10,000 mobilizers, the exercise reportedly achieved 98.8% coverage. GNA; Pulse; WHO Senegal (1); WHO Senegal (2)

Mexico held a national HPV vaccination campaign September 2-December 18, targeting girls ages 11 to 16, transgender and cisgender people ages 11 to 49 living with HIV, and girls, women, and adolescents ages 9 to 19 who are receiving care following sexual assault. The effort, which aimed for 95% national coverage, sought to administer 1,132,634 vaccine doses. Mexican government; MBN

For full coverage of health campaigns, pharma, and other topics important to global development, sign up for Linksbridge newsletters today.