GUINEA
Protecting the Most Vulnerable Against COVID-19
Follow Guinea's health security agency and its partners in a vaccination effort targeting vulnerable populations in the country’s capital
With a population of over two million, Conakry, the capital city of Guinea, accounts for more than 80% of COVID-19 cases reported in the coastal West African country of 14 million inhabitants.
Vaccination coverage against COVID-19 remains low for Guinean patients in intensive care. 89% are still unvaccinated.
To protect Conakry's most vulnerable populations, Guinea's Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire (ANSS) is working with the Ministry of Health and local health authorities to roll out a vaccination campaign targeting those populations.
The project is funded by the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under the COVID-19 International Vaccine Implementation and Evaluation (CIVIE) program and coordinated by the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) and the Task Force for Global Health. IANPHI has been supporting ANSS to strengthen its capacity since 2021.
The campaign focuses primarily on people living with HIV, Tuberculosis and other noncommunicable diseases, who are largely treated in Conakry. The goal was to vaccinate 160,000 people living with comorbidities.
Data has shown that 25% of intensive care patients suffer from TB or HIV, 47% high blood pressure, and 15% diabetes. 90% of patients who have died from COVID-19 had comorbidities, including 28% HIV or TB, 33% high blood pressure and 19% diabetes.
A second goal of the campaign was to vaccinate 135,000 people over 50 years old, who represent 66% of COVID deaths and 66% of intensive care patients. Just 14.6% of people in this age group were already vaccinated before the campaign started.
To achieve these goals, ANSS and its partners decided to target public administrations, including health workers, and defense and security forces, as well as places of worship, markets, public squares and other high traffic areas such as bus stations, port and airport.
The campaign was launched on July 18, 2022 in a ceremony at the Diabetes Center of Camp Camayenne in the center of Conakry, during which a diabetic patient was given the first shot. The ceremony was attended by local and international partners, including an IANPHI delegate.
The first phase of the vaccination campaign began the following day and ran until August 18, 2022. The second phase, initially scheduled to take place in late 2022, was later pushed to the second quarter of 2023 for procedural reasons.
Participants at the launch ceremony representing AFENET, WHO, IANPHI, and ANSS
Participants at the launch ceremony representing AFENET, WHO, IANPHI, and ANSS
ANSS partners at the launch event
ANSS partners at the launch event
A diabetic patient receives the first vaccine during the campaign launch ceremony
A diabetic patient receives the first vaccine during the campaign launch ceremony
The first vaccinated patient receives her vaccination card
The first vaccinated patient receives her vaccination card
Community dialogues
ANSS and AFENET held a series of community dialogues to encourage community involvement, find champions to promote immunization within the communities, and ensure the adhesion of the target populations.
Community dialogues also helped address rumors and misinformation about vaccination circulating in the communities and build community confidence in the immunization teams.
In the preparatory phase of the campaign, these dialogues took the form of meetings with religious and community leaders, representatives of care facilities responsible for HIV, TB and noncommunicable disease programs, market administrators, transporters' unions, and port managers.
During the implementation of the first phase, social mobilizers played a key role alongside the heads of neighborhoods to mobilize the target populations around the vaccination sites. 350 social mobilizers were recruited to cover the 135 districts of Conakry. They walked the streets of their assigned neighborhoods, offering information to residents about the vaccination campaign and nearby sites and answering questions about the vaccine. They also provided feedback to review the most effective strategies to bring people in.
Commercials and interactive programs around COVID-19 vaccination were also run on the radio and television and in the online press.
Follow social mobilizers, health workers and the supervising team of ANSS and AFENET at vaccination sites and in the neighborhoods of Conakry during the first phase of the campaign.
Click on any photo below to switch to slideshow mode and read the captions.
Social mobilizers in the neighborhood of Dixin on August 9, 2022, whose mission was to ensure that the target populations were aware of the vaccination sites and convince them to come in to receive their shot
Social mobilizers in the neighborhood of Dixin on August 9, 2022, whose mission was to ensure that the target populations were aware of the vaccination sites and convince them to come in to receive their shot
Dr. Sano, who is in charge of communication and social mobilizing for Dixin's health district, walks in a narrow street of Madina with her colleagues
Dr. Sano, who is in charge of communication and social mobilizing for Dixin's health district, walks in a narrow street of Madina with her colleagues
A social mobilizer congratulates a diabetic young man for completing his COVID-19 vaccine doses
A social mobilizer congratulates a diabetic young man for completing his COVID-19 vaccine doses
Social mobilizers answering questions from women sitting on their front porch about the vaccination during a pregnancy
Social mobilizers answering questions from women sitting on their front porch about the vaccination during a pregnancy
Social mobilizers talk with an older woman getting water
Social mobilizers talk with an older woman getting water
Discussion with an elderly man in Madina
Discussion with an elderly man in Madina
Health worker preparing a syringe of COVID-19 vaccine in Taouya on July 26, 2022
Health worker preparing a syringe of COVID-19 vaccine in Taouya on July 26, 2022
An elderly man with diabetes receives a vaccine dose in Taouya
An elderly man with diabetes receives a vaccine dose in Taouya
A briefing of social mobilizers in Ratoma led by Dr. Etienne, an AFENET consultant for the CIVIE campaign
A briefing of social mobilizers in Ratoma led by Dr. Etienne, an AFENET consultant for the CIVIE campaign
A 70-year-old woman with diabetes and high blood pressure receives her third COVID-19 vaccine dose in Hamdallaye
A 70-year-old woman with diabetes and high blood pressure receives her third COVID-19 vaccine dose in Hamdallaye
The ANSS-AFENET supervising team observes a conversation between a social mobilizer and vaccine candidates all over 50 years of age
The ANSS-AFENET supervising team observes a conversation between a social mobilizer and vaccine candidates all over 50 years of age
Health worker at the health district offices of Matoto, replenishing her supplies before heading to her vaccination site
Health worker at the health district offices of Matoto, replenishing her supplies before heading to her vaccination site
COVID-19 vaccination cards, signed by the director general of ANSS, Prof. Fodé Amara Traoré
COVID-19 vaccination cards, signed by the director general of ANSS, Prof. Fodé Amara Traoré
Debrief meeting for Matoto health district, chaired by the regional health director of the city of Conakry, Dr. Bouna Yattassaye, on August 3, 2022
Debrief meeting for Matoto health district, chaired by the regional health director of the city of Conakry, Dr. Bouna Yattassaye, on August 3, 2022
Dr. Foster, physician for the health district of Matoto, speaks at the debrief meeting
Dr. Foster, physician for the health district of Matoto, speaks at the debrief meeting
Campaign supervisors from ANSS, AFENET and the health department of Conakry checking patient registrations to ensure they are eligible to receive the vaccine at Matoto's facility of people living with HIV
Campaign supervisors from ANSS, AFENET and the health department of Conakry checking patient registrations to ensure they are eligible to receive the vaccine at Matoto's facility of people living with HIV
Campaign supervisors from ANSS and AFENET looking over paperwork to make sure the vaccines go to those who need it most
Campaign supervisors from ANSS and AFENET looking over paperwork to make sure the vaccines go to those who need it most
Supervision visit of a vaccination site in Matoto
Supervision visit of a vaccination site in Matoto
The head of communications and media at ANSS, Jean Traoré, during the supervising visit of the site
The head of communications and media at ANSS, Jean Traoré, during the supervising visit of the site
Over half a million vaccinated
Over half a million people had received a dose of vaccine by the end of the first phase. Among the vaccinated, 74% were from the target populations. The remaining 26% were people who were not targeted but were not turned away from vaccination sites.
"We are pleased with the success of this first phase, which made it possible to vaccinate 501,527 people, including 373,717 who were the real target of the campaign", said Prof. Fodé Amara Traoré, director general of ANSS.
"Social mobilization reached 315,612 people from the target population, including 164,799 men (52.2%) and 150,813 women (47.8%)", he added. "In total, 666,102 people were reached by all the actors involved in communications during the campaign."
According to ANSS, the main obstacles to vaccination were the reluctance and hesitation from part of the population, the seasonal rains, and social unrest related to the political context in some places, which prevented the smooth running of the vaccination activities.
ANSS is now working on planning the second phase of the CIVIE campaign. It is also working with the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) of the World Health Organization to make routine immunization available in all regions of Guinea.
The CIVIE campaign has played a significant role in the context of the immunization of populations against COVID-19 in the Republic of Guinea. The campaign has allowed the majority of the target populations to receive doses of protection. For ANSS, this campaign is a success, but this was only the first phase. I congratulate all the stakeholders who got involved alongside us and I invite them to redouble their efforts for the success of the second phase. In addition, I want thank the CDC for funding this campaign.
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