Ethiopia kicks off the second-round polio campaign with the new tool “nOPV2 vaccine” to tackle an ongoing polio outbreak
On 15 April 2022, Ethiopia kicked off the second-round polio campaign with type 2 novel oral polio vaccine (nOPV2) aiming to protect over 16 million under-five children from disability and death attributed to the ongoing polio outbreak in the country. The four-day campaign will be conducted in all regions except Tigray, Addis Ababa and Afar, which the later implemented the first-round campaign in early April and will need to adhere to the four-week interval between the first and second doses to the vaccine.
The launching was held in different regions in the presence of government officials, elders, religious and community leaders, parents and/or caregivers and partners.
The campaign is led and coordinated by the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) and the emergency operation centers (EOCs) at all levels with support from partners.
The nOPV2 vaccine is a new tool approved through an Emergency Use Listing (EUL) procedure replacing the monovalent type 2 oral poliovirus (mOPV2) vaccine based on its superiority on proven protection against type 2 circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV2).
AfDB hosts consultations with governments to promote its blueprint to equip Africa’s workforce with in-demand skills
The African Development Bank hosted virtual consultations with African government ministers, representatives of the African Union, government officials, and academics to gather views on the implementation of the Bank’s Skills for Employability and Productivity in Africa Action Plan for 2022-2025.
The first session on 12 April focused on countries in East and Southern Africa. The second, on April 13, targeted countries in Central, North, and West Africa. The Bank is seeking regional member countries’ endorsement of the Action Plan and inputs on how the plan can support investment in higher education, in science and technology, as well as in technical and vocational education and training – also known as TVET.
“It’s another milestone in the Bank’s partnership with our regional member countries to forge partnership in equipping Africa’s labor force with in-demand skills … African youth have the potential to become the world’s largest resource for productive and innovative labor, if they are equipped with quality and relevant skills,” said Beth Dunford, Bank Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development.
