However, in spite of the above fact, The Gambia is one of the few countries in the sub region that continues to register a positive track record when it comes to effective and efficient immunization programmes. Around the sub-region, The Gambia has and continues to be a leader in immunization performance across the sub-region.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Health with support from the World Health Organisation (WHO) Country Office held a day’s capacity building training targeting members of the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG). The move is part of the Ministry's efforts to strengthen and prepare the country’s immunization services ahead of any emergency cases.
Since its establishment in 1979, the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) has saved thousands of lives in the country, while promoting the quality of lives of the citizenry.
However, this could have happened with their efforts and putting in place robust and viable strategies that continue to help the country in its immunization coverage.
This has even helped the country to become a centre where most countries around the sub-region come to pilot some best practices in immunization. The Gambia, as in the case of most African countries, misconception and stereotypes associated with some of these vaccines, make it hard for people to go for its especially conservative communities. This, to some extent, results in low national coverage.
Thus, we must commend the Ministry and its health specialists and all those partners, who are always engaging communities to dispel some of those unfounded rumours and misconceptions surrounding these vaccines.
Strengthening the role of NITAG in delivering quality health outcomes is key. According to experts, vaccines are among the most powerful inventions in history, making once-feared diseases preventable.
In fact, if it were not for the effectiveness of these life-saving vaccines, the world would have still been grappling with some of these dreadful diseases like smallpox, which is already eradicated, polio, which is also on the brink, and a host of others. With continued research, investment and collaboration, medical experts continue to save millions more lives today and in the next 50 years.
Despite these gains, we call on this new team to work towards strengthening this achievement by instituting robust measures for the benefit of the citizens. It is a fact that in the face of emerging challenges like urbanization, migration, post-COVID recovery, and the introduction of new vaccines, our immunization strategies must evolve. There should be room for complacency.
Let’s remember that immunization programmes have become the bedrock of primary health services in communities and countries due to their far reach and wider coverage. They provide not only an opportunity for vaccination but also enable other life-saving care to be provided, including nutritional support, maternal tetanus prevention, illness screenings and bed net distribution to protect families from diseases like malaria.