On Thursday, 13th October 2022, the Ministry of Health Tanzania commissioned the polio emergency operations center (PEOC) set up by eHealth Africa in Dodoma, Tanzania.
With support from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), the PEOC supports the Ministry to facilitate collaboration and coordination of public health stakeholders within the country in the fight against the Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus 2 (cVDPV2) and vaccine-preventable diseases.
Over the years, Tanzania has made magnificent progress in eradicating polio, but with polio rising in neighboring countries, the need for further efforts to prevent cross-border epidemics has increased. The effect of the covid-19 pandemic has negatively affected the country’s vaccination program, including the coverage for polio vaccines. With the establishment of the Polio emergency operation centers, equipped with modern technology, coordination will be easier. The PEOC will serve as a central location for coordinating operations and providing tools and resources for the strategic management of public health emergencies.
To ensure sustainability, e-health Africa handed over the center to the Ministry of Health, Tanzania to support their effort in the fight against polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases. The center will provide health data that will give the government information on any threats within their borders and those coming up in their neighboring borders. “The goal of the polio emergency operations center (PEOC) is to ensure you have the resources you need to fight and respond to outbreaks all in one place. Joint efforts of the government and partners will help to improve the quality of any response in Tanzania. It will function at this national level during emergencies and ensure proper response to other outbreaks beyond polio.” said Dr Delayo Zomahoun, GPEI Coordinator for Tanzania.
The growing cases of the Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus 2 (cVDPV2) in many African countries require focused efforts to establish Emergency Operating Centers to improve the coordination and coverage of vaccination efforts to tackle the spread of type 2 circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV2). eHealth Africa’s project manager Sodipe Oluwaseun said “In March, we came to Tanzania to support the setup of the EOC and outbreak response. 7 months later, we facilitated the setup of the polio EOC. We hope this EOC provides the platform to ensure no child is left behind in the fight against polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases. We thank the government of Tanzania for an enabling environment.”
Here are some pictures from the handover event in Dodoma, Tanzania.
