PCVIS Newsletter - Issue 1 (March 2009)

The Government plans to introduce a new vaccine - The Pneumococal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) into the routine immunisation programme for children. The vaccine targets the "pneumococcus", a bacterium that causes pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis in children. The vaccine is being provided at a subsidised price by a donor, the GAVI Alliance.

In order to monitor the impact and effectiveness of the vaccine, the Kenyan Government has commissioned KEMRI to do a study, known as the Pneumococal Vaccine Impact Study (PCVIS). This four year monitoring project commenced in March 2008.

Led by Dr Anthony Scott, the project team will monitor the impact of the vaccine in two districts, Kilifi and Thika, to determine the effectiveness and the costeffectiveness of the new vaccine programme. In addition, the project, which is also funded by the GAVI Alliance, will provide some support to the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation to prepare for the vaccine introduction.

As the project rolls out, the partners will need to communicate with each other, hence the need for this newsletter. PCVIS however is not a research study in the normal sense but a public health collaboration and therefore this newsletter will not just contain updates regarding the PCVIS project but will also keep the district, and stakeholders outside the district, aware of important issues in public health. We therefore encourage our readers to share any important public health issues by contacting us at pcvisnewspcvis [dot] net.