One Million Vaccine Doses Administered to Children Living in Humanitarian Settings in the Horn of Africa

February 22, 2024 —  One million doses of life-saving vaccines have been administered to children living across Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan, thanks to the Zero-Dose Immunization Programme (ZIP). Funded by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and led by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in the Horn of Africa, ZIP is responding to the humanitarian challenge of identifying and vaccinating zero-dose children living in fragile settings that are beyond the reach of government health services. More than half of the 2.71 million children in the region aged under five years have never received a vaccine in their lives.

“Children living in hard-to-reach communities now have a fighting chance for a better future,” said Thabani Maphosa, Managing Director of Country Programmes Delivery at Gavi. “But our work is not done: millions of children who are already vulnerable due to conflict, natural disasters and other challenges continue to be under-served by traditional health systems, and systemically miss out on essential vaccines. Innovative partnerships such as this one with the IRC are essential if we are to ensure no child is left behind.”   

In partnership with Flowminder, ThinkPlace and a broad coalition of local civil society organisations, the IRC is building on its humanitarian expertise to successfully deliver results through ZIP. In Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan, humanitarian negotiators are working closely with vaccination teams to access communities living in conflict-ridden areas and vaccinate children who are the hardest to reach. According to the latest data, at the beginning of the programme only 16% of the total targeted areas in the region were accessible. Through successful negotiation, 77% can now be accessed to deliver immunisation. Partners are also integrating health programmes to provide services, including nutrition, and vaccines in one place.

“Through innovative strategies and strategic partnerships, the IRC-led Gavi REACH consortium is bridging the equity gap in immunisation, extending Ministry of Health immunisation programmes to populations in fragile, conflict and humanitarian settings that are beyond the reach of traditional health systems or government support,” said Shiferaw Demissie, Project Director for Gavi REACH at the IRC. “By directly funding and supplying the full range of actors through this program, Gavi has enabled the IRC and its partners to implement hyper-responsive and context-specific programming. The IRC is committed not only to expanding immunisation coverage to some of the most vulnerable populations, but also to utilising Gavi REACH as a gateway to extend additional critical services, such as primary health care, nutrition and other services, to these communities.”

The Horn of Africa is grappling with multiple crises. In addition to the millions of lives lost due to conflict, millions more have been displaced and are facing extreme shortages of food and water. Climate change, extreme droughts and flooding are also exacerbating instability, making it increasingly difficult to access communities in need of basic health services, and to prevent and control the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases.

In 2021, there were more than 4.5 million zero-dose children living across the 11 target ZIP countries. Recognising that new methods were necessary to address low immunisation coverage and equity gaps, Gavi launched ZIP, dedicating up to US$ 100 million and leveraging new partnerships to identify and reach zero-dose children living in fragile and conflict settings across Africa. The IRC and World Vision were selected to lead the initiative in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel regions respectively, due to their extensive experience in conflict areas and strong footprint in remote areas. 

Gavi media contacts:

Cirũ Kariũki
+41 79 913 94 41
[email protected]

Meg Sharafudeen
+41 79 711 55 54
[email protected]

Matt Grek
+44 773 846 64 53
[email protected]

IRC media contacts:

Alexander Tucciarone -- [email protected]

Sally Anyanga -- [email protected]

About Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate more than half the world’s children against some of the world’s deadliest diseases. The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. View the full list of donor governments and other leading organisations that fund Gavi’s work here.

Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped to immunise a whole generation – over 1 billion children – and prevented more than 17.3 million future deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 78 lower-income countries. Gavi also plays a key role in improving global health security by supporting health systems as well as funding global stockpiles for Ebola, cholera, meningococcal and yellow fever vaccines. After two decades of progress, Gavi is now focused on protecting the next generation, above all the zero-dose children who have not received even a single vaccine shot. The Vaccine Alliance employs innovative finance and the latest technology – from drones to biometrics – to save lives, prevent outbreaks before they can spread and help countries on the road to self-sufficiency. Learn more at www.gavi.org and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter