Title : Acceleration of Africa CDC saving lives and livelihood COVID-19 implementation in United Republic of Tanzania, October to December 2022

Abstract:

Background
Tanzania initially refused COVID-19 vaccinations, questioning their validity. As a result, by January 2022, one year after the WHO approval for the use of the COVID-19 vaccine, only 2.8% of the target population aged 18 and older had been vaccinated nationwide. However, as of September 30, 2022, 11 out of 31 regions achieved 75% coverage, while 20 regions reported poor uptake. To improve COVID-19 vaccination in Tanzania, the Africa CDC Saving Lives and Livelihood Project supported logistics, vaccination, and demand creation starting October 3, 2022, in 11 regions. Ten of these regions are among the poor-performing areas, including Kilimanjaro, which had a high uptake and some non-performing districts. We accelerated our vaccination efforts to meet the goal of vaccinating 100% of the target population by the end of December and planned to integrate COVID-19 vaccination with other health programs starting in January.

Method
We observed the implementation of activities and conducted a desk review of Africa CDC COVID-19 vaccination efforts. Initial advocacy, situation analysis, a review of microloans, and pre-implementation workshops were completed. We adopted several innovations, including event-based vaccination, decentralization through devolution, reward-based execution, and pay-for-performance. Immunization campaigns utilized fixed and mobile outreach sessions with door-to-door demand creation, supported by collaborative supervision, to reach 3,528,200 individuals in three months with single-dose J&J vaccines.

Results
The Africa CDC SLL vaccinated 4,573,434 individuals, accounting for 130% of our annual target of 3,528,200 in December 2022, just three months post-implementation. The median coverage (Range) in the 11 regions pre- and post-acceleration was 55(36-102) and 111(82-1380), respectively. Fifty-two percent of people vaccinated were male, with a median age (Range) of 42(18-79).

Key words: Vaccination; Acceleration; COVID-19

Biography:

Robinson Nnaji has 15 years of experience in public health, including seven years as a supervisor. He has expertise in project management, technical support, One Health implementations, vaccinology, epidemiology, health information systems, surveillance, surveys, and more. He has received training from various organizations and currently serves as the national coordinator in Tanzania for the African Center for Disease Control. He represents the organization in Tanzania. Addressing public health needs and priorities, enhancing partnerships, and contributing to knowledge product development in the Tanzanian health sector.