The National Immunization Programme of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPR Korea) successfully conducted a nationwide catch-up vaccination campaign targeting children who missed vaccine doses in 2021 – 2022 due to the pandemic situation. From 14 March 2023 to the end of the month unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children received BCG, Pentavalent, IPV and measles rubella vaccines. Mothers who had missed their tetanus/diphtheria vaccination during the same period were immunized as well.
To ensure high quality of the catch-up immunization campaign micro plans for every immunization unit had been reviewed and updated in December 2022 in cooperation with the WHO Country Office and about 7700 immunization doctors were re-trained on immunization practices and the catch-up vaccination drive.
Photo credit: WHO DPR Korea
The catch-up immunization sites in all Ri/Dong clinics and nurseries were organized to include a waiting area, registration room, vaccination room, and monitoring room for adverse events following immunization (AEFI); in line with national quality standards laid out in the guiding instruction issued by the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), DPRK.
All vaccine supplies were transported to every county level medicine warehouse in good conditions under respective cold chain management. Other immunization supplies including syringes, safety boxes and AEFI management kits were distributed to the immunization units in early March 2023. The home-based immunization booklets were also distributed to or re-checked in targeted families by the household doctors; offering important advocacy opportunities. Notifications were given to families with confirmed vaccination dates by the household doctors before the immunization sessions; to ensure high participation and avoid long queues of waiting mothers while facilitating the work of immunization doctors.
The campaign was launched on 14 March with delivering the daily vaccine requirements from warehouses to the immunization units and mothers were invited by the immunization pre-notification given to families to come with their child to the vaccination sites. Importantly, mothers were allowed to leave their work for their child’s vaccination as per Government instruction.
Photo credit: WHO DPR Korea
An average of 30-40 children came to the vaccination clinics in mornings and afternoons respectively and according to the planed and confirmed immunization dates. All vaccinations given were recorded in the home-based immunization booklets and simultaneously in the facility-based vaccination card and vaccination registration book.
Mobile vaccination teams visited the nurseries assigned to them and conducted the immunization sessions in one day as per the micro-plan. Any missed children were actively identified and vaccinated during 27-31 March 2023. WHO observed the performance and practices of the catch-up immunization activities in urban and rural areas of different provinces.
Dr Mohammed Jamsheed, WHO Representative, Country Office for DPR Korea, highlighted: “This catch-up immunization campaign is another testimony for DPR Korea’s long history of strong leadership and governance of the national immunization programme; with effective policies in place, a well-established network of primary health care platforms with an adequate number of trained service providers for the national immunization programme and an established cold chain system.”