Background
The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization was established in 1999 to provide policy and strategy advice on vaccines and immunization to the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). SAGE is the principal advisory group to WHO for vaccines and immunization. All vaccine and immunization-related topics of public health relevance for which WHO requires strategic and policy advice need to be reviewed by SAGE.
This SAGE Working Group on Chikungunya vaccination (from now on referred to as SAGE WG) is established by the Secretariat as a resource intended to support WHO in the preparation of SAGE deliberations by reviewing and providing evidence-based information and options for policy or strategy recommendations to be decided by SAGE. This SAGE WG is tasked to work on specific issues and address critical questions on behalf of SAGE to prepare the background material and draft recommendations for SAGE.
Terms of reference
The Working Group will be requested to review the scientific evidence and relevant programmatic considerations to formulate recommendations on the use of Chikungunya vaccines. The Working group will develop draft recommendations to be submitted for consideration by SAGE to inform the global policy on Chikungunya vaccine use, and for subsequent issuance of the WHO Position Paper on Chikungunya vaccines.
Specifically, the Working Group will be asked to address the following areas in its review:
- the global burden of disease caused by chikungunya virus infection, including outbreaks;
- safety, efficacy, duration of protection, schedules, and co-administration of chikungunya vaccines that are now licensed in some countries;
- data on cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of chikungunya vaccination;
- programmatic feasibility of chikungunya introduction into routine immunization schedule and/or as an outbreak response;
- Vaccine impact of routine immunization versus outbreak response (endemic use versus reactive use) acceptability and equity impacts of chikungunya vaccination.
Based on the evidence reviews conducted, the working group is asked to:
- To provide options for policy and strategy development and describe the broader implications of those options;
- To present the results of the evidence review as requested by WHO;
- To highlight knowledge gaps and research questions from the review of evidence, including an assessment of vaccine products in the pipeline and needs for future products.
Timelines
The SAGE Working Group will be established in the second trimester of 2025 and is expected to accomplish its tasks within 12-18 months and present its conclusions and recommendations to SAGE in 2026.
A WHO position paper on Chikungunya vaccines will be scheduled for publication in 2026.
Mode of work
The working group will mainly meet virtually via Microsoft Teams video conferences. One face-to-face meeting may be convened in the Geneva area.
Collective expertise needed in the working group
A broad range of disciplines relevant to:
- epidemiology/public health expertise, particularly in low- and middle-income countries with high burden of Chikungunya;
- infectious disease immunology;
- vaccinology;
- immunisation programme planning/management, implementation and monitoring;
- vaccine impact modelling;
- vaccine safety;
- health economics.
In the selection of the members, consideration shall be given to attaining an adequate distribution of technical expertise, geographical representation and gender balance.
Proposals for nominations should be sent by email to sageexecsec@who.int, along with a curriculum vitae, an indication of relevant expertise, and a completed declaration of interest form. Only complete nominations received by 16 May 2025 will be considered.
Information on the purpose, structure and functioning of SAGE Working Groups is available at: https://www.who.int/groups/strategic-advisory-group-of-experts-on-immunization/working-groups
For more information on SAGE and SAGE working groups: