European Adult Immunization Advocacy Summit

As a response to the poor uptake rates of adult vaccinations globally the International Federation on Ageing (IFA) is working to bring together experts and expertise to help influence and shape specific related policies to ensure healthy ageing for all.

With General Consultative status at the United Nations and its agencies including the World Health Organization (WHO) the IFA is in a unique position to help build the capacity of NGOs at a country level and also advocate with global influencers such as the WHO.

The Adult Immunization Advocacy Summit convened by the IFA in collaboration with the Confederation of Meningitis Organizations (CoMO) and Hacettepe University, took place in Brussels, Belgium from the 4th – 6th November 2015. The goal of the Summit which was attended by delegates from 11 different European countries was to better understand the value of a civil society coalition that works in tandem with scientists to promote a life course approach to vaccinations as a means to inform healthy ageing policy at a national and regional level.

Delegates contributed to an improved understanding of the current situation of adult vaccination policies and practices in the European Union and specific countries in the region, and agreed to the need for an across discipline strategy to improve the uptake rates of adult vaccinations.

Summit delegates unanimously agreed on the importance of working together to improve the rates of adult vaccination in Europe in a broad coalition model. Delegates agreed: (see Appendix 1 for further details):

• To work towards gaining parliamentary action for vaccination and to advocate for the creation of a European Union Joint Action on Vaccination.
  For NGOs in EU and non-EU countries in collaboration with the IFA to facilitate a webinar to better understand actions that could contribute to national strategies.
• To determine critical gaps in research pertaining to national recommendations, data coverage, the effects of infectious diseases for older adults and the benefits of vaccination to be determined.
  Delegates were keenly interested in understanding how existing data could be used to respond to specific questions about the lack of and impact of education to the general public and also health care professionals.
• To explore the development of a knowledge platform that could store the most up-to-date information and key messages on adult vaccinations, as well as experts and influencers in the field.

Read the full Adult Immunization Advocacy Summit Report.