Injection safety
While the main goal of immunization is to prevent illness and death, the overriding concern of any public health intervention must be primum non nocere ("First, do no harm")
It is well known that giving injections using nonsterile procedures can cause abscesses, and transmit life-threatening infectious diseases, including hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. Not only do unsafe injection practices pose a direct danger to the recipient and health worker, but improper disposal of used injection equipment presents a continued risk of infection and an environmental hazard to individuals and local communities. The safety of injections, including the proper disposal of used injection equipment, is therefore a concern for the entire healthcare sector
Auto-disable (AD) syringes – syringes that become automatically unusable after one use – have reduced the risk of unsafe injections dramatically and hence the transmission of bloodborne pathogen diseases. In line with joint statement of WHO/UNICEF/UNFPA/IFRC*, AD syringes are currently the preferred equipment for administering injectable vaccines, both in routine immunization and for mass campaigns
Technical assistance is provided to countries to assess the quality of immunization services and to develop and implement national safe injection policies and operational plans. Monitoring and assessment of injection safety is encouraged as an important element to ensure quality of health interventions provided and equity in service delivery