Advocacy and Resource Mobilization for Rubella Elimination in Guatemala

Abstract

This review describes the advocacy efforts to mobilize resources for the campaign to vaccinate men and women aged 9-39 years, with a goal of eliminating rubella and congenital rubella syndrome in Guatemala. The country's investment in health has been historically low (0.9% of gross domestic product), and there has been a wide gap between the availability of economic resources and the need for economic resources for the immunization campaign. The review contains a summary of the investment made, the results of advocacy and resource mobilization, the vaccination coverage attained, and the campaign's impact on the disease.

Curbing an outbreak of circulating vaccine derived polio virus type 2 in Dolo Zone, Somali Region, Ethiopia: response to outbreak

“…After establishing the response team, resource mobilization, advocacy, community, and social mobilization will enhance the coverage of the preventive action, in this case, immunization of children under-five years old. In this scenario, such resource mobilization, advocacy, and social mobilization may be the reason for the high vaccination coverage among children under five years in remote, challenging, and hard-to-reach areas, consistent with other studies [ 25 , 26 ].…”

Seroprevalence of high incidence congenital infections among pregnant women in Coatepeque, Guatemala and surrounding areas, 2017–2018

“…Our study noted the youngest age group having lowest rubella immunity. We note that Guatemala had a mass MR vaccination campaign in 2007 targeting 9–39 years old and achieved 99% targeted coverage as part of the rubella elimination initiative [ 49 ]; the majority of the youngest age group would not have qualified for this campaign. The threat of importation or re-introduction of rubella and other vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) remains an important risk, as was evident from an imported measles case in Guatemala in January 2018 and ongoing VPD outbreaks in the region [ 50 – 53 ].…”

Successful elimination of rubella and congenital rubella syndrome from the American region: A historical breakthrough

“…The American region was able to achieve this milestone because of ensuring achievement and maintenance of high vaccination coverage with two dosages of measles and rubella-containing vaccines; performing intensive immunization activities in areas with poor coverage; creating an atmosphere to increase the extent of political commitment; motivating policy makers to increase the financial allocation for routine and supplementary immunization activities; identifying potential donors to support the rubella elimination campaign; facilitating strategic mobilization of the available resources; improving the advocacy efforts by developing an effective strategy; establishing and strengthening the outbreak preparedness response to enable detailed investigation for timely and effective public health response; improving the surveillance activities by expanding the definition of a CRS case; developing a monitoring system to document the number of vaccinated persons by rapid house-to-house coverage; streamlining mechanisms to evaluate the activities and progress of the immunization sessions; involving members of the community by raising their level of awareness; building confidence and increasing the demand for immunization; ensuring multi-sectoral involvement by networking with governmental and nongovernmental organizations and private sector; and promoting research to improve upon the impact of immunization activities and diagnostic tools. [ 5 6 7 8 9 ]…”