Immunization is one of the greatest achievements of public health policies. Second to access to drinking water, immunization is one of the most effective public health measure for controlling infectious diseases. It has significantly contributed to saving millions of children’s lives around the world particularly since the launch of the World Health Organization (WHO) Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) in 1974 and its implementation. Public health accomplishments with immunization include eradication of smallpox in 1980 and the reduction in reported polio cases from 350,000 in 125 countries in 1988 to 9 in 2 countries in 2015. Other success from immunization includes the neonatal tetnus elimination Initiatives and its immunization and the immunization of pregnant women and women of childbearing age. Through the neonatal tetnus elimination and combined with clean and safe childbirths and umbilical cord care during the neonatal period, have helped to reduce neonatal tetanus cases in the world from 10538 to 2161 cases, 2603 to 835 cases in Africa, and in specifically in Côte d’Ivoire from 311 to 12 cases, from 1995 to 2014.
Vaccines and Immunization are among the most cost-effective health intervention. In the USA for example, smallpox eradication cost 100 million US dollars and that also enabled the world to yield about 1.35 billion annual savings over the 10 years following the eradication of the disease. There are even greater benefits in low-income countries where gaining a year of healthy life due to immunization was estimated at 14-20 US dollars, i.e. 7000-10 000 FCFA, assuming that a US dollar is worth 500 FCFA.
Implementation of the WHO EPI has been widespread across the world and its coverage reflected in the number of vaccines and target population in implementing countries including Côte d’Ivoire. However, in Côte d’Ivoire as in many other countries, coverage data on the non-EPI populations are scarce. For example a study among university of Abidjan-Cocody students showed only 3.7% coverage for Hepatitis B vaccination. This study however, did not give full coverage of non-EPI vaccination coverage in Abidjan. To compensate for the limited information, this study seeks to estimate non-EPI immunization coverage in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The study estimates immunization coverage for Tetanus, Hepatitis B, Meningitis, Yellow Fever and Typhoid Fever among people aged at least 2 years in Abidjan city. In addition we examine factors associated with the vaccination status and determine reasons for non-vaccination.
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