Thirty medical teams visited families in over 120 settlements with marginalized communities in North Macedonia as part of a door-to-door campaign funded by the European Union. The aim of the campaign was to address and reduce vaccination inequities.
Launched in April 2023, during European Immunization Week, by WHO and the Ministry of Health, the five-week initiative sought to help overcome the social, economic, physical or individual obstacles that hinder people’s access to vaccines against COVID-19, measles or other diseases. Deployed mobile vaccination teams engaged in patient-centred communication and disseminated evidence-based leaflets and informational materials, while also offering vaccinations on the spot.
The medical teams engaged in the campaign administered 1057 doses of vaccinations against COVID-19 or measles/mumps/rubella, visited more than 3370 homes and distributed over 6000 information leaflets on COVID-19 and routine immunizations.
Implementing evidence-based findings to create targeted local-level interventions
North Macedonia has faced challenges in increasing vaccination uptake across different communities, and the percentage of both COVID-19 and routine immunization uptake varies significantly across the country's municipalities. A WHO-led assessment had revealed various barriers to health in rural, remote and small urban areas of the country, such as where the campaign took place. These barriers included distance to health services, lack of transportation and indirect costs.
WHO has worked with the Ministry of Health, the National Immunization Committee, the Institute of Public Health, centres of public health and local health centres to identify under-immunized groups and make access to COVID-19 and routine vaccinations easier, thereby improving equity in uptake of vaccines.
The campaign is an example of tailoring service delivery to the needs of individuals and communities based on data-enabled informed decisions, as outlined by the European Immunization Agenda 2030 adopted by all Member States of the European Region.
A global push to catch up, restore and strengthen essential immunization
This year’s European Immunization Week activities are part of what WHO is calling the “The Big Catch Up”, a year-long campaign to address a concerning decline in childhood vaccination rates across the world. Much of this decline can be attributed to impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. While the pandemic is not yet over, it is important to continue with efforts to control and eliminate other vaccine-preventable diseases.
"I cannot overstate the importance of immunization in protecting ourselves, our families and our communities from vaccine-preventable diseases,” said Dr Anne Johansen, WHO Special Representative and Head of Office a.i. in Skopje, North Macedonia.
“Vaccines are safe, effective and save millions of lives every year. Let us all work together to ensure that everyone has easy access to vaccines and that any questions about vaccines are addressed with evidence-based information.”
Partnering with the European Union
The door-to-door campaign was part of an EU-funded project aimed at strengthening health systems’ resilience in the Western Balkans. The project is being implemented in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo.*
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*All references to Kosovo should be understood to be in the context of the United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).