What is theMercredideRéflexion?
TheMercedideRéflexionis a monthly meeting organized by the IDB Haiti Country Officethat tacklesrelevant topicsfor the country’sdevelopment and economic growth.These meetings bring to the table sector specialists, academics, politicians and members of civil society to explore different points of viewsurrounding the topic of choice.
On Wednesday February 17, 2021,theMercredideRéflexionfocused onthe current stageand the road ahead for the deploymentof the COVID-19vaccine in Haiti.Mr.Silinfrom the Minister of Finance, Dr. Laure Adrien from the Ministry of Health, Dr. Pape fromGheskioand Dr.Guefrom PAHO participated in the event, which was moderated by Mr.Kesner Pharel and attended by more than 80 guests.The meeting produced the following three key takeaways:
1. Vaccinescanhelp Haiti overcome the COVID-19 crisis, but there are still challengesaheadfor their effective deployment.
COVID-19 is one of the worst pandemics the world has experienced in recent times. The pandemic has spared no one and in the case of Haiti, COVID-19 has hit the country in the midst of a deep political divide and within a climate of increasing insecurity and protests. Haiti is currently going through a second rise in cases, reaching 12,296 confirmed cases and 247 deaths as of February 13, 2021.
Thevaccination process has taken over the headlines worldwide,as countries rollout mass vaccination program.However, there are still many challengesahead.These include,amongst others:
- How to financethe vaccination campaign?
- Who to target?
- How to overcome logistical challenges such asensuringcold-chain logistics and the adequate training of workers?
- How to increase thepopulations’ knowledge and sensibilization?
- How to effectively collect, process and usedata to inform the process?
2. The logistics of distributing the vaccinesare beingdeveloped and published by the Ministry of the Population and Public Health
Both international and national funding for vaccines have to be guided by a national implementation plan.TheMinistry of the Population and Public Healthhas prepared a national plan for the distribution of vaccines whichis to bereleased soon. The criteria for vaccine selection are: 1) Approved by WHO; 2) the capacity to be preserved given Haiti’s challenges to ensure acold chain during the distribution of vaccines; 3) the least number of doses possible; 4) the least costly.
Additional challenges with regards to the deployment of the vaccine include the need to:
- Launchinformation and sensibilization campaigns to minimize the population’sresistance;
- How to makeuse of the lessons learned and structures put in place during previouslarge scalevaccination programs, such as cholera and the human papilloma;
- How to bestconfront the pandemic with a united front and in collaboration with all entities, includingpublic, private sector, NGOs and the international community.
3. Financing for the vaccination program will be provided by COVAX and the Government, under the PREPOC 2020-2023
There are two key sources of financing forCOVID-19vaccinesin Haiti.In the international arena,the country has requested assistance fromCOVAX. COVAXis an unprecedented effort to ensure all countries get access to COVID-19 vaccinesand aimsto deliver 2 billion doses by the end of 2021.At the national level, the vaccine campaign fallsunder the PREPOC (plan derelanceéconomiquepost COVID) 2020-2023. A key pillar of this plan is to reinforce the health sector. For this,the Ministry of Finance is budgeting HTG32.4 billion over the next two fiscal years.
The deployment of COVID-19 vaccines in Haiti offers a solution to ease the effects of the pandemic, but also poses challenges.At theIDB, weremain committed to support the country of Haiti throughout this processand ensure all Haitians have access to this vaccine in a fair and equitable manner.
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https://blogs.iadb.org/salud/en/countries-covid-19-vaccines/