Ministry of Health and National Immunization Technical Advisory Group representatives with mission members from the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean and PIVI. Photo credit: WHO/WHO Bahrain

29 January 2024, Manama, Bahrain – A 2-day mission was conducted in Manama, Bahrain, on 23–24 January 2024 to pilot a rapid mini evaluation of Bahrain’s seasonal influenza vaccination programme.

Seasonal influenza causes high morbidity and mortality around the world each year. Although safe and effective influenza vaccines are available and have been in use for more than 60 years, uptake of influenza vaccines in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region remains suboptimal. There are several challenges to improving the coverage rate, such as lack of local evidence, competing health priorities, limited collaboration among stakeholders, and vaccine hesitancy and misconceptions. 

Dr Tasnim Atatrah, WHO Representative in Bahrain (centre), welcomes mission members from the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean and PIVI. Photo credit: WHO/WHO BahrainJointly, WHO and the Task Force for Global Health’s Partnership for International Vaccine Initiatives (PIVI) are offering technical support to countries of the Region that already have a national seasonal influenza vaccination programme. The aim is to enhance the programmes by conducting a collaborative rapid mini post-introduction evaluation to assess and analyse each programme in line with “Immunization Agenda 2030: a global strategy to leave no one behind”.

Building on Bahrain’s vaccination history and the presence of an influenza vaccine programme, Bahrain takes the lead as the first country of the Region to pilot the new Facilitated Assessment of Influenza (vaccination programme) – Review (FAIR) tool.

The mission’s first day involved a comprehensive overview of Bahrain’s seasonal influenza vaccination and life course immunization programme, under the guidance of Dr Samya Bahram, Assistant Undersecretary for Public Health, Ministry of Health. The Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) led discussions about current immunization policies, while the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group shared insights into its role in policy issues related to immunization and vaccines.

Further insights were provided by experts in procurement and regulatory processes, risk communication and community engagement, demand strategies, logistics related to vaccine supply, cold chain management, waste disposal, and service delivery.

The second day of the mission involved a field visit to a primary health care setting, the Sheikh Abdulla bin Khalid Al Khalifa Health Center . This offered insights into the practical implementation of the influenza vaccination programme. Led by the Ministry of Health’s EPI team, mission facilitators and the WHO country office, the visit helped to build a better understanding of Bahrain’s influenza vaccination landscape.

A debriefing and recommendations were provided to the Ministry of Health to improve and sustain the national seasonal influenza vaccination programme and strengthen national pandemic preparedness. These efforts will help to meet the WHO Triple Billion targets and health-related Sustainable Development Goals to better protect against health emergencies.

Useful links

Immunization Agenda 2030: a global strategy to leave no one behind

Influenza vaccine post-introduction evaluation (IPIE)

Partnership for International Vaccine Initiatives