Attention: All News Editors
KINGSTON, Jamaica: Wednesday, November 6, 2024 (PAHO/WHO): Jamaica has won the Henry C Smith Award for the most improved immunization coverage in 2023. The award was announced at the 38th Caribbean Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) Managers’ meeting held in St Kitts and Nevis recently.
Jamaica’s EPI Manager and Director of Family Health Services in the Ministry of Health & Wellness, Dr. Julia Rowe-Porter jubilantly reported that Jamaica is truly honoured to receive the Henry C Smith Award for 2023. “This award is evidence that our immunization team at all levels – facility, parish, regional and national – are committed, resilient and focused on achieving our target for 95% vaccination coverage, with a phenomenal post-pandemic recovery. There is still much work to be done to combat the growing threat of vaccine hesitancy. We are grateful for the ongoing technical cooperation and support received from all our partners, especially the Pan American Health Organization, as Jamaica seeks to maintain the gains of this high priority programme,” she shared.
The EPI Managers Meeting was held from October 28-30, under the theme, “Stronger Together: Advancing Immunisation, Eliminating Disease”, and culminated with a communications workshop. Pan American Health Organization Advisor, Immunization, Dr. Karen Broome, noted that while the post-pandemic road has been difficult, significant strides have been made. “The investments we’ve made in risk communication and community engagement are starting to pay off. We’re connecting better with the public, especially the most vulnerable, and building the trust we need to carry this work forward. Because, as we all know, without the trust of the community, we cannot do our work effectively. Rebuilding that trust is a process, and it’s one we must approach with patience and effective communication,” she said.
During the opening ceremony, PAHO’s Assistant Director, Dr Rhonda Sealy, commended the Caribbean Immunization managers for beginning to turn vaccination coverage around. “Notably, Polio 3 coverage improved from 90% in 2021 to 93% in 2022, with even more progress in 2023, where we nearly reached the global target of 95%, achieving 94%. The gains in MMR vaccinations are also encouraging… These achievements reflect the hard work of our National Expanded Program on Immunization and the unwavering support of our health ministers,” Dr Sealy noted.
In 2023, Jamaica’s immunization coverage for the vaccines given to infants under 1 year of age (BCG, polio, Pentavalent) increased to over 99% post-pandemic, with improvements in MMR given in the second year of life (92% and 89% for 1st and 2nd doses respectively).