World Health Organization in collaboration with the Department of Health, Sindh, has recently inaugurated the "Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine Campaign" to vaccinate over 8.9 million children across seven districts of Karachi Division and Hyderabad district. The campaign was launched by Provincial Health Minister Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho.
The initiative commenced on May 13, 2024, and will continue until May 25, 2024. There are 7,469 teams (536 Fixed, 6902 Outreach and 31 Mobile teams) deployed in 8 districts of Sindh. This campaign follows a surge in extensively drug-resistant (XDR) typhoid cases reported through surveillance data in the province.
In 2016, a significant outbreak of extensive drug-resistant (XDR) strain of typhoid was reported in Pakistan, affecting over 12,000 people in the Sindh province. Notably, children under the age of 15 were disproportionately affected, with most cases and deaths occurring in this age group. By 2017, approximately 63% of Pakistan's total typhoid cases and 70% of typhoid-related deaths were attributed to children under the age of 15.
Typhoid commonly affects children in low-resource communities, leading to severe illnesses, and is primarily spread through contaminated water, poor sanitation, and inadequate food safety measures.
A mass vaccination campaign was conducted in the Sindh province in response to the XDR outbreak. This was followed by the introduction of TCV into the routine immunization program in November 2019. As a result, more than 10 million children were vaccinated during this period.
World Health Organization has been supporting the Government of Pakistan since the first outbreak was reported in 2016. As a part of this campaign, WHO has contributed to strategic planning, microplanning, training, monitoring, and data analysis for evidence-based decision-making. The TCV campaign is expected to significantly contribute to reducing the number of Extensively Drug-Resistant (XDR) cases.
WHO in collaboration with provincial government and other partners conducted the awareness sessions at the public and private schools to reach approximately 30% of the target children for vaccination.
In addition, swift response mechanisms have been put in place for adverse events after immunization (AEFI). Notably, WHO has trained AEFI focal persons and doctors, providing AEFI kits with essential medicines and supplies to deal with any emergencies that may arise.World Health Organization (WHO)Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination IslamabadWorld Health Organization (Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office)The Expanded Programme on Immunization - PakistanEPi pakistan offical
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