Samoa strengthens its vaccination programme

The Ministry of Health Samoa, with the support of UNICEF and WHO held two three-day basic vaccination training sessions in May 2024. Approximately 60 participants, including midwives, registered nurses, enrolled nurses, and members from the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) team attended sessions held on the main islands of Upolu and Savaii. The training is part of continued efforts to strengthen Samoa's Expanded Immunization Programme (EPI) and is responsive to several recommendations that emanated from the review of the response to the 2019 measles epidemic. It also aligns with the recommendations from the 12^th Pacific Immunization Programme Managers Hybrid Meeting in Fiji, 30 November to 2 December 2022.

Globally, COVID-19 disrupted the delivery of essential healthcare services as reported by 92% of countries at the pandemic's peak; with 84 % of countries still reeling from the impact of the disruption in 2022. Immunization programmes in the Western Pacific were also affected and resulted in an estimated 3.6 million children missing out on life-saving vaccination for Measles, Mumps and Rubella from 2020 to 2022.

Samoa launched a vaccination catch-up campaign in 2023, which resulted in improved coverage for a measles containing vaccine (MCV) at 87% for MCV 1 and 74 % for MCV 2 respectfully. Efforts continue to ensure coverage of young children 6 years old who are the most susceptible.

WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, Dr Saia Ma'u Piukala signalled this continued threat of measles to member states via correspondence to Ministers of Health and at high-level discussions during his country visits in his first hundred days since assuming office on 1 February 2024.

WHO continues to support countries to address gaps in their Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI). In 2023 for example, the WHO Office in Samoa assigned three staff to the Ministry of Health, which resulted improvements in cold-chain storage, vaccine management, and data and logistics management. The EPI was assessed, and the results are guiding national immunization plans, programmes and improvements in hospital capacity to manage the programme. A technical advisory committee for the EPI was established and thirty-six persons were also trained on vaccine surveillance.

The Basic Vaccinator Training complements these initiatives. On the first day trainees were provided with an overview of Samoa's vaccination programme including its history; the national immunization schedule; vaccine preventable diseases and vaccines; and cold chain system sensitivity, monitoring, management and equipment maintenance. Topics covered on the other two days included community microplanning; vaccine logistics planning; gender equality and disability social inclusion; communication for vaccine hesitancy; waste management; and hands-on documentation and reporting using the immunization register and Tamanu data entry.

^{Health workers participate in the basic vaccinator training held in Savaii last May 2024. Photo: WHO}

Pre-and-post tests were conducted to gauge participants knowledge on EPI and EPI quality assurance. One hundred percent (100%) of participants passed the course with average scores ranging from 50% to 100%. This was an improvement of pre-test scores where only 10% of participants scored 60% or higher.

Participants provided feedback as part of the monitoring and evaluation of the training. They articulated their appreciation for the sessions and the opportunity to improve their knowledge and skills especially through the hands-on segments. The trainers acknowledged participants' feedback including their requests for more practical and on-the-job training sessions.

A Train-the-Trainers EPI tool is being developed to promote sustainability and standardization of the EPI training and to support its scale-up. A training session on the tool will be rolled out in August 2024.

WHO's support to Samoa's vaccination training is funded by the Asian Development Bank.

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