Rotavirus vaccines are being rolled out across Africa at a remarkable pace thanks to the support of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. This baby from Rwanda, a Gavi-eligible country, was the first to receive rotavirus vaccines through Rwanda's NIP on May 25, 2012. PATH, through the Vaccine Implementation Technical Assistance Consortium (VITAC) has successfully assisted and supported Gavi, the Gavi Secretariat, the Gavi-eligible countries in the design, planning, introduction, and/or integration of rotavirus vaccines. Photo: Merck & Co., Inc.

The need for rotavirus vaccines in Africa and around the world is reflected in the eyes of Aisha from Sierra Leone who was helping to treat her son Abdul's severe diarrhea with oral rehydration solution contained in green pails in 2011 before the introduction of rotavirus vaccines. Nearly a quarter of a million African children die from the deadly, dehydrating diarrhea caused by rotavirus infection every year, accounting for more than 50 percent of the global total of rotavirus deaths. Sierra Leone introduced rotavirus vaccines on March 28, 2014.

A physician cares for a young Ghanaian boy hospitalized for severe diarrhea and being treated with intravenous fluids. Urgent care and treatment with intravenous fluids for severe rotavirus diarrhea is often limited or unavailable in the developing world, making rotavirus prevention through vaccination critical to saving children’s lives. Ghana introduced rotavirus vaccines at the same time it introduced pneumococcal vaccines on April 26, 2012. 

Bringing sick children to busy clinics like this one in Tanzania costs families time, money, and a great deal of stress. If used in all Gavi-eligible countries, rotavirus vaccines could prevent an estimated 180,000 deaths and avert 6 million clinic and hospital visits each year, thereby saving US$68 million annually in treatment costs. Tanzania’s National Immunization Program introduced lifesaving rotavirus vaccines on December 6, 2012.

Rotavirus vaccines need to be kept cold at all times during arrival, storage, and delivery to health clinics. This Ministry of Health worker from Sudan dresses for the cold temperature in order to load boxes of rotavirus vaccines in the central storage facility as they arrived in Sudan for introduction on July 17, 2011. Sudan was the first African country to introduce rotavirus vaccines with GAVI Alliance support.

Transportation can be difficult in areas with limited infrastructure, and Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) teams often need to use creative methods to transport vaccines to regional and local health centers. Here, an EPI team from Tanzania carries coolers full of rotavirus vaccines to a boat for transportation to a rural area of Zanzibar during the rollout of rotavirus and pneumococcal vaccines in 2012.

Health worker training is critical to successful, safe, and sustained vaccine introduction. Health workers are instrumental in teaching families about comprehensive diarrhea control strategies, which include rotavirus vaccines, oral rehydration therapy (ORT), exclusive breastfeeding, zinc treatment, improvements in water, sanitation, and hygiene, and proper nutrition. Here, Mary Ofori, Principal Community Health Nurse in the Dangme West district of Ghana, conducts an education session at the rotavirus vaccine launch on April 26, 2012.

A happy family awaits their child’s receipt of rotavirus vaccine at Rwanda’s launch on May 25, 2012. Countries that have introduced rotavirus vaccines have experienced significant reductions in severe and fatal diarrhea, underscoring the incredible potential for rotavirus vaccines to improve child health and save lives.

Support for rotavirus vaccines from all parts of a community is important for driving equity in vaccination coverage. Here, Sheik Mussa Mohammed, Acting head of the Afar region Islamic Affair Office, shares the importance of vaccinating children by highlighting passages from the book “Reflection of the Quran on the Care and Protection of Children.” This workshop was facilitated by PATH to build support for immunization among the Muslim community in Ethiopia before the country’s introduction of rotavirus vaccines on November 7, 2013. With the second-largest population in Africa and one of five countries with the greatest rotavirus burden worldwide, Ethiopia’s introduction of rotavirus vaccines has the potential to protect the 2.8 million children born in the country each year.

Health workers march proudly to Zambia’s first rotavirus vaccination ceremony with a banner reinforcing the key public health message that rotavirus vaccines are a critical part of a comprehensive strategy to prevent diarrhea, a leading killer of young children in Zambia and across Africa. Following a successful pilot project in the capital Lusaka, Zambia introduced rotavirus vaccines nationally on November 27, 2013.

A group of women at the launch of rotavirus vaccines in Malawi show the fist—a sign of fighting diarrhea with the newly launched vaccines. Malawi’s introduced rotavirus vaccines on October 29, 2012, with an enthusiastic showing of community support.

Chantal Biya, First Lady of Cameroon, administers the first rotavirus vaccine to an infant at Cameroon’s introduction ceremony on March 28, 2014. Public backing of rotavirus vaccines by government leaders such as Mrs. Biya helps reinforce that vaccination is the best way to protect children from rotavirus and the deadly dehydrating diarrhea that it causes.

Madame Chantal Compaore, First Lady of Burkina Faso, shows her support for vaccination by presiding over the dual launch of rotavirus and pneumococcal vaccines on October 31, 2013. By introducing these vaccines together, Burkina Faso took a step forward in promoting the approach of the Integrated Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhea (GAPPD), which advocates for the introduction of both vaccines as part of a comprehensive and integrated strategy to combat diarrhea and pneumonia.

Dr. Amani Abdelmoniem Mustafa, manager of Sudan’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation at the time of rotavirus vaccine introduction in Sudan, administers rotavirus vaccine to an infant during Sudan’s launch on July 17, 2011. Rotavirus vaccines are dramatically improving the health and well-being of children around the world in countries where children have access to them.

Due to the heavy burden of diarrhea and the power of rotavirus vaccines to prevent childhood deaths and hospitalizations, the introduction of rotavirus vaccines into countries’ national immunization programs is a cause for celebration. In this photo, musicians perform a traditional song at Mali’s launch of rotavirus vaccines on January 14, 2014.

Angolan girls celebrate the introduction of lifesaving rotavirus vaccines by performing a dance at Angola’s rotavirus vaccine launch ceremony on April 28, 2014.

At Ghana’s dual rotavirus and pneumococcal vaccine introduction ceremony on April 26, 2012, a traditional dance reflects power, strength, and movement—just like the power of vaccines to save lives and move children toward a stronger, healthier future.