(1) Background: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is one of the countries with the highest number of never vaccinated or “zero-dose” (ZD) children in the world. This study was conducted to examine the proportion of ZD children and associated factors in the DRC. (2) Methods: Child and household data from a provincial-level vaccination coverage survey conducted between November 2021–February 2021 and 2022 were used. ZD was defined as a child aged 12 to 23 months who had not received any dose of pentavalent (diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis-Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)-Hepatitis B) vaccine (by card or recall). The proportion of ZD children was calculated and associated factors were explored using logistic regression, taking into account the complex sampling approach. (3) Results: The study included 51,054 children. The proportion of ZD children was 19.1% (95%CI: 19.0–19.2%); ZD ranged from 62.4% in Tshopo to 2.4% in Haut Lomami. After adjustment, being ZD was associated with low level of maternal education and having a young mother/guardian (aged ≤ 19 years); religious affiliation (willful failure to disclose religious affiliation as the highest associated factor compared to being Catholic, followed by Muslims, revival/independent church, Kimbanguist, Protestant); proxies for wealth such as not having a telephone or a radio; having to pay for a vaccination card or for another immunization-related service; not being able to name any vaccine-preventable disease. A child’s lack of civil registration was also associated with being ZD. (4) Conclusions: In 2021, one in five children aged 12–23 months in DRC had never been vaccinated. The factors associated with being a ZD child suggest inequalities in vaccination that must be further explored to better target appropriate interventions.

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Introduction on October 4 th , 2018, a measles outbreak was declared in Madagascar. This study describes challenges related to resources mobilization for the outbreak response. Methods data were collected using minutes of coordination committee meetings, activities reports, operational action plans and situation reports. Results the total cost of the outbreak response was estimated to US$ 11,281,381. Operational cost was the leading cost driver (42.45%) followed by vaccine cost (33.74%). Cases management, epidemiological surveillance, communication and social mobilization and routine immunization strengthening represented 23.81% of the total cost. The main funder of the outbreak response was the measles and rubella initiative. Conclusion good coordination, open dialogue, good use of financial resources and accountability of government and partners have enabled to gain the confidence of national and international donors.

Introduction on October 4 th , 2018, a measles outbreak was declared in Madagascar. This study describes the outbreak response in terms of coordination, case management, vaccination response and epidemiological surveillance. Methods data were collected using a line list and vaccination tally sheet. Serum samples were collected within 30 days of rash onset for laboratory testing; confirmation was made by detection of measles immunoglobulin M antibody. Results from September 2018 to May 2019, a total of 146,277 measles cases were reported which included 1394 (1%) laboratory-confirmed cases and 144,883 (99%) epidemiological link-confirmed cases. The outbreak affected equally males (72,917 cases; 49.85%) and females (73,233 cases; 50.06%). The sex was not specified for 127 (0.09%) cases. Case fatality rate and attack rate were high among children less than 5 years. Responses interventions include effective coordination, free of charge case management, reactive vaccination, strengthened real-time surveillance, communication and community engagement and the revitalization of the routine immunization. Reactive vaccination was implemented in different phases. A total of 7,265,990 children aged from 6 months to 9 years were vaccinated. Post campaign survey coverage was 95%, 96% and 97% for phase 1, 2, 3 respectively. Conclusion elimination of measles will be challenging in Madagascar because of low routine immunization coverage and the absence of a second dose of measles vaccine in the routine immunization schedule.

Background: In 1988, the World Health Assembly launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. WHO AFRO is close to achieve this goal with the last wild poliovirus detected in 2014 in Borno States in Nigeria. The certification of the WHO African Region requires that all the 47 member states meet the critical indicators for a polio free status. Madagascar started implementing polio eradication activities in 1996 and was declared polio free in June 2018 in Abuja. This study describes the progress achieved towards polio eradication activities in Madagascar from 1977- 2017 and highlights the remaining challenges to be addressed. Methods: Data were collected from the national routine immunization services, Country Acute Flaccid surveillance databases and national reports of SIAS and Mop Up campaign. Country complete polio and immunization related documentation provided detailed historical information’s. Results: From 1997 to 2017, Madagascar reported one wild poliovirus (WPV) outbreak and four circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Virus (cVDPV) oubreaks with a total of 21 polioviruses (1 WPV and 21 cVDPV). The last WPV and cVDPV were notified in 1997 in Antananarivo and 2015 in Sakaraha health districts respectively. Madagascar met the main polio surveillance indicators over the last ten years and made significant progress following the last cVDPV2 outbreak in 2014 -2015. In addition, the country successfully implemented the switch from trivalent Oral Polio Vaccine (tOPV) to bivalent Oral Polio vaccine (bOPV) and containment activities. Environmental Surveillance established since 2015 did not reveal any poliovirus. The administrative coverage of the 3rd dose of oral polio vaccine (OPV3) varied across the years from 55% in 1991 to a maximum of 95% in 2007 before a progressive decrease to 86% in 2017. The percentage of AFP cases with more than 3 doses of oral polio vaccines increased from 56% in 2014 to 88% in 2017. A total of 19 supplementary immunization activities (SIA) were conducted in Madagascar from 1997 to 2017, among which 3 were subnational immunization days (sNID) and 16 were national immunization days (NIDs). Poor routine coverage contributed to the occurrence of cVDPC outbreaks in the country; addressing this should remain a key priority for the country to maintain the polio free status. From 2015 to June 2017, Madagascar achieved the required criteria leading to the acceptance of the country’s polio-free documentation in June 2018 by ARCC. However, continuous efforts will be needed to maintain a highly sensitive polio surveillance system with emphasis on security compromised areas. Finally strengthening the health system and governance at all levels will be necessary if these achievements are to be sustained. Conclusions: High national political commitment and support of the Global Polio Eradication Partnership were critical for Madagascar to achieve polio free status. Socio-political instability, weakness of the health system, sub-optimal routine immunization performance, insufficient SIA quality and existing security compromised areas remain critical program challenges to address in order to maintaining the polio free status. Continuous high-level advocacy should be kept in order to ensure that new government authorities maintain polio eradication among the top priorities of the country.