‘Health Camp’ model: a unique approach for child vaccination in non-state armed actor controlled, inaccessible geographies in Somalia
Decades of conflict, political instability, and limited infrastructure left Somalia facing significant challenges to offer consistent and equitable health services, especially for child vaccination. Recent data reveals alarming vaccination gaps, with 60% of children receiving no vaccinations, and on...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Global Health Action |
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| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2024.2391598 |
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| author | Mohamed Hussein Kahow Salad Ahmed Halane Asma Ali Rashed Shah |
| author_facet | Mohamed Hussein Kahow Salad Ahmed Halane Asma Ali Rashed Shah |
| author_sort | Mohamed Hussein Kahow |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Decades of conflict, political instability, and limited infrastructure left Somalia facing significant challenges to offer consistent and equitable health services, especially for child vaccination. Recent data reveals alarming vaccination gaps, with 60% of children receiving no vaccinations, and only 11% completing required vaccines. Despite global support, an estimated 1.15 million children remain unvaccinated, half of them reside in inaccessible areas controlled by non-state armed actors. In this context, the Far-Reaching Integrated Delivery (FARID) project was initiated since October 2022 across 10 districts of Galmudug and Hirshabelle state in Somalia. Employing the ‘Health Camp’ model, FARID addresses social, structural, and gender barriers, adapting to ever-changing context of inaccessible regions by providing mobile health facilities and outreach health and nutrition services, including child vaccination. This approach effectively reached previously unreached population in Somalia’s most difficult-to-reach areas. Implemented in phases, the project immunized 51,168 children (0–23 months) who had not received any prior vaccinations (23,753 boys and 27,415 girls), screened and treated 14,158 malnourished children (0–59 months) and vaccinated 11,672 pregnant women during March–December 2023. The project’s success hinges on intensive community engagement, local partnerships, innovation in mapping and data management, and delivery of integrated services tailored to population needs. The project underscores the critical role of local community-based organizations and clan elders in reaching inaccessible populations through humanitarian negotiation amidst security challenges. The project has achieved significant milestones aligned with national health strategic plans, including progress towards universal health coverage and improved immunization access in Somalia’s most challenging regions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bf0d346823af407ab3755a049acea91a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1654-9880 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Health Action |
| spelling | doaj-art-bf0d346823af407ab3755a049acea91a2025-02-05T12:46:14ZengTaylor & Francis GroupGlobal Health Action1654-98802024-12-0117110.1080/16549716.2024.23915982391598‘Health Camp’ model: a unique approach for child vaccination in non-state armed actor controlled, inaccessible geographies in SomaliaMohamed Hussein Kahow0Salad Ahmed Halane1Asma Ali2Rashed Shah3Save the Children InternationalMinistry of Health – GalmudugBill and Melinda Gates FoundationSave the Children USDecades of conflict, political instability, and limited infrastructure left Somalia facing significant challenges to offer consistent and equitable health services, especially for child vaccination. Recent data reveals alarming vaccination gaps, with 60% of children receiving no vaccinations, and only 11% completing required vaccines. Despite global support, an estimated 1.15 million children remain unvaccinated, half of them reside in inaccessible areas controlled by non-state armed actors. In this context, the Far-Reaching Integrated Delivery (FARID) project was initiated since October 2022 across 10 districts of Galmudug and Hirshabelle state in Somalia. Employing the ‘Health Camp’ model, FARID addresses social, structural, and gender barriers, adapting to ever-changing context of inaccessible regions by providing mobile health facilities and outreach health and nutrition services, including child vaccination. This approach effectively reached previously unreached population in Somalia’s most difficult-to-reach areas. Implemented in phases, the project immunized 51,168 children (0–23 months) who had not received any prior vaccinations (23,753 boys and 27,415 girls), screened and treated 14,158 malnourished children (0–59 months) and vaccinated 11,672 pregnant women during March–December 2023. The project’s success hinges on intensive community engagement, local partnerships, innovation in mapping and data management, and delivery of integrated services tailored to population needs. The project underscores the critical role of local community-based organizations and clan elders in reaching inaccessible populations through humanitarian negotiation amidst security challenges. The project has achieved significant milestones aligned with national health strategic plans, including progress towards universal health coverage and improved immunization access in Somalia’s most challenging regions.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2024.2391598health campimmunizationsomaliainaccessible areazero-dose children |
| spellingShingle | Mohamed Hussein Kahow Salad Ahmed Halane Asma Ali Rashed Shah ‘Health Camp’ model: a unique approach for child vaccination in non-state armed actor controlled, inaccessible geographies in Somalia Global Health Action health camp immunization somalia inaccessible area zero-dose children |
| title | ‘Health Camp’ model: a unique approach for child vaccination in non-state armed actor controlled, inaccessible geographies in Somalia |
| title_full | ‘Health Camp’ model: a unique approach for child vaccination in non-state armed actor controlled, inaccessible geographies in Somalia |
| title_fullStr | ‘Health Camp’ model: a unique approach for child vaccination in non-state armed actor controlled, inaccessible geographies in Somalia |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘Health Camp’ model: a unique approach for child vaccination in non-state armed actor controlled, inaccessible geographies in Somalia |
| title_short | ‘Health Camp’ model: a unique approach for child vaccination in non-state armed actor controlled, inaccessible geographies in Somalia |
| title_sort | health camp model a unique approach for child vaccination in non state armed actor controlled inaccessible geographies in somalia |
| topic | health camp immunization somalia inaccessible area zero-dose children |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2024.2391598 |
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