Adopting a Comprehensive Approach to Improve Vaccination Coverage in Conflict Zones

Armed conflicts and humanitarian emergencies often result in the disruption of healthcare facilities, the loss of trained healthcare professionals, and interruptions in the delivery of essential services. The purpose of the current review is to identify the barriers to vaccine coverage in conflict zones and propose public health interventions to overcome these identified barriers. An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was carried out in the PubMed search engine, and a total of 16 articles were selected based on the suitability with the current review objectives and analyzed. Keywords used in the search include vaccines, conflicts, vaccination, and immunization in the title alone. A wide range of barriers have been identified that tend to influence and compound the goal of maintaining adequate vaccine coverage among people residing in conflict-affected regions. Acknowledging the high probability of the emergence of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in the context of interruption of routine vaccinations during conflicts, there is an immense need to identify and bridge the existing barriers. All these interventions should be implemented in a coordinated manner, involving the support of different stakeholders and international welfare organizations. In conclusion, conflicts tend to significantly hamper the implementation of vaccination services, resulting in outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. This calls for the indispensable need to identify the potential barriers and address them comprehensively through targeted interventions to ensure equitable access to vaccines.