Somalia's mass vaccination against polio, pneumonia targets 3 million children

Somalia launched a nationwide vaccination campaign on Monday to combat measles, polio and pneumonia, targeting more than 3 million children in the country.

The World Health Organization (WHO), which launched the week-long campaign in collaboration with Somali federal and regional governments, said in a statement that the campaign's goal is "to protect children and vulnerable communities from deadly preventable diseases" in the Horn of Africa.

The Vaccine Alliance (GAVI) is supporting the campaign, which aims to vaccinate 3.1 million Somali children under the age of five against measles, polio and pneumonia, the statement said.

Somalia continues to face long-standing security challenges, making it difficult to provide vaccines to vulnerable children, according to the WHO.

Polio outbreaks

Since 2014, no poliovirus has been detected in Somalia, and the African continent was declared poliovirus-free in 2020.

However, the WHO reports that the country's health infrastructure has been devastated by conflict, poverty, and climate crises, and polio strains continue to threaten children.

Part of Somalia, identified by the Global Polio Eradication Programme as one of seven "consequential geographies," continues to face difficulties in controlling polio outbreaks due to overpopulation, fragile health systems, and ongoing conflict.

In April, Somalia introduced two lifesaving vaccines into its national immunisation programme: pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) and rotavirus vaccine, both of which aim to prevent pneumonia and diarrhoea in children.

It said the coordinated effort is a significant step forward in the country's efforts to reduce the prevalence of measles, pneumonia, and rotavirus-related diarrhoea, which are three of the leading causes of disease and death among Somali children.