{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,16]],"date-time":"2026-05-16T12:08:32Z","timestamp":1778933312392,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":7,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"Suppl 1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,15]],"date-time":"2026-05-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1778803200000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":134,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/3.0\/igo\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["bmjph"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,1]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The African Vaccination Week (AVW) is a coordinated initiative designed to raise awareness, strengthen immunisation delivery and promote equity across the WHO African Region. In 2025, AVW coincided with the Immunisation Agenda 2030 midpoint, offering a strategic opportunity to accelerate progress towards reaching zero-dose and under-vaccinated populations.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We conducted a cross-sectional synthesis using aggregated secondary data from country implementation reports submitted to the WHO Regional Office for Africa and insights from postimplementation regional webinars. Data were analysed descriptively to summarise vaccination outputs, integrated service delivery and implementation innovations across countries.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>25 countries reported implementing AVW 2025 activities. Approximately 11.5\u2009million children were vaccinated, including 353\u2009133 zero-dose children. Around 100\u2009000 adults received vaccines, primarily tetanus\u2013diphtheria and COVID-19 vaccines. Other interventions delivered along with vaccination included vitamin A supplementation and deworming for over 250\u2009000 children. Several countries leveraged AVW 2025 to introduce vaccines, launch their national immunisation strategy and strengthen integration with primary healthcare services.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The AVW 2025 functioned as a regional implementation platform for highlighting immunisation priorities, reaching missed children and supporting integrated primary healthcare delivery across the WHO African Region.<\/jats:p>\n                    <jats:p>Country experiences indicate that AVW achieves the greatest impact when aligned with national programmes and embedded within routine planning processes. Variations in participation and reporting point to the need for stronger advance preparation, sustained engagement with all Member States and adaptable support tailored to country contexts. Positioning AVW as a feasible, low-opportunity-cost mechanism for advocacy, visibility and service delivery alignment can contribute meaningfully to broader immunisation and primary healthcare goals in the Region.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjph-2025-004798","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,16]],"date-time":"2026-05-16T11:20:11Z","timestamp":1778930411000},"page":"e004798","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["African Vaccination Week as a catalyst for integrated services and immunisation equity: synthesis of implementation insights from countries in the WHO African Region"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"4","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3891-0929","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aschalew","family":"Teka Bekele","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Programme, World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Cr\u00e9pin H","family":"Dadjo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Intercountry Support Team for West Africa, Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Programme, World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Patricia E M","family":"Manga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Programme, World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ado Mpia","family":"Bwaka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Intercountry Support Team for West Africa, Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Programme, World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yolande Vou","family":"Masembe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Intercountry Support Team for Central Africa, Vaccine Preventable Diseases, World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Libreville, Brazzaville, Gabon"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sarah","family":"Wanyoike","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Intercountry Support Team for East and Southern Africa, Vaccine Preventable Diseases, World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Harare, Zimbabwe"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1273-4779","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Charles Shey","family":"Wiysonge","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Programme, World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo"},{"name":"South African Medical Research Council, Cochrane South Africa, Cape Town, South Africa"},{"name":"Department of Global Health, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026051604200458000_4.Suppl_1.e004798.1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Shattock AJ , Johnson HC , Sim SY , et al . Contribution of vaccination to improved survival and health. 2024;403:2307\u20137. doi:10.1016\/S0140-6736(24)00850-X","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(24)00850-X"},{"key":"2026051604200458000_4.Suppl_1.e004798.2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wiysonge CS , Ndwandwe D , Iwu-Jaja C , et al . Strategic positioning of immunization at the heart of Africa\u2019s health and development agenda. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2025;21. doi:10.1080\/21645515.2025.2599628","DOI":"10.1080\/21645515.2025.2599628"},{"key":"2026051604200458000_4.Suppl_1.e004798.3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1186\/s12913-015-0989-7","article-title":"African vaccination week as a vehicle for integrated health service delivery","volume":"15","author":"Mihigo","year":"2015","journal-title":"BMC Health Serv Res"},{"key":"2026051604200458000_4.Suppl_1.e004798.4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10","DOI":"10.29245\/2578-3009\/2018\/si.1101","article-title":"Five-year Experience of African Vaccination Week Implemented by the WHO Regional Office","volume":"2","author":"Okeibunor","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Immunological Sci"},{"key":"2026051604200458000_4.Suppl_1.e004798.5","unstructured":"WHO Regional Office for Africa . African vaccination week. Available: https:\/\/www.afro.who.int\/health-topics\/immunization-and-vaccines-development\/african-vaccination-week\/about [Accessed 17 Dec 2025]."},{"key":"2026051604200458000_4.Suppl_1.e004798.6","unstructured":"Gavi Civil Society Constituency . Learnings from the Africa vaccination week webinar \u2013 2025. Available: https:\/\/gavi-csos.org\/learnings-from-the-africa-vaccination-week-community-webinar-2025\/ [Accessed 17 Dec 2025]."},{"key":"2026051604200458000_4.Suppl_1.e004798.7","unstructured":"World Health Organization . Immunization agenda 2030. Available: https:\/\/www.immunizationagenda2030.org\/ [Accessed 17 Dec 2025]."}],"container-title":["BMJ Public Health"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/syndication.highwire.org\/content\/doi\/10.1136\/bmjph-2025-004798","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,16]],"date-time":"2026-05-16T11:20:15Z","timestamp":1778930415000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/bmjpublichealth.bmj.com\/lookup\/doi\/10.1136\/bmjph-2025-004798"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,1]]},"references-count":7,"journal-issue":{"issue":"Suppl 1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,16]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,1]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1136\/bmjph-2025-004798"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/bmjph-2025-004798","relation":{},"ISSN":["2753-4294"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2753-4294","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,1]]}}}