Mali: 6 million vaccinated against yellow fever

Almost 6 million people in Mali were vaccinated against yellow fever in a large vaccination campaign this week. About 6 000 health-care providers and 2 000 volunteers were engaged to reach and vaccinate people at risk of contracting yellow fever across southern Mali.

This is the largest mass vaccination campaign ever undertaken. And, thanks to the support of the GAVI Alliance, it is the first to be conducted at such a scale in one of Africa’s largest and most under-developed countries.

Several partners worked together to make the campaign a success. It was organized by the Malian Ministry of Health with technical support from WHO and other organizations. While UNICEF provided logistics support, the Malian Red Cross and many local organizations took care of social outreach efforts. The vaccines and equipment were funded with part of the US$ 63 million donated by GAVI Alliance for yellow fever vaccination across west and central Africa.

Source : WHO Online