More than a million doses of rotavirus vaccine help the country control a severe diarrheal disease outbreak.
When an outbreak of rotavirus nearly crippled Nicaragua’s health system six years ago, several Ministry of Health (MOH) departments formed a dedicated alliance to reduce the burden of diarrheal disease, including a unique team of experts on hygiene, epidemiology, nutrition, and child health.
In less than two years, a team of representatives from the ministry—along with NicaSalud (a local coalition of NGOs), PATH, UNICEF, and others—brought public-sector clinics on board and trained health care workers to provide zinc and ORT throughout the country. A parallel demonstration project by the MOH and Merck, which donated more than 1 million doses of rotavirus vaccine, offered the opportunity to integrate rotavirus vaccination.
The introduction of the rotavirus vaccine in 2006 marked the first time in history that a developing country took up a vaccine in the same year as its adoption in the United States. More than 85 percent of vaccine-eligible children were reached in the project’s first year. Citing cross-disciplinary cooperation as fundamental to the program’s achievements, the MOH credited the alliance with building awareness of zinc treatment, ORT, and rotavirus vaccines.
Nicaragua’s strategy for diarrheal disease control illustrates how a coordinated approach can strengthen efforts and achieve benefits throughout the health system. The approach is well under way and informing similar strategies throughout the region and the world.