North Macedonia

PIVI's WORK WITH North Macedonia

Together with the PIVI team, North Macedonian partners drafted a multi-year sustainability plan to guide vaccine program growth, including priority technical support/evaluation needs. These priorities have focused on increasing vaccine access and coverage among health care workers. North Macedonia conducted a Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) analysis to inform their communications plans.

PIVI funding was used to develop communication materials, including posters, leaflets, and a television PSA to promote vaccination in target risk groups and increase public awareness. Tailored communications materials have been developed for pregnant women and older adults. North Macedonia is expanding vaccination communications and is updating their multiyear influenza program plans. Through its partnership with PIVI, North Macedonia has tackled multiple aspects of its influenza vaccination program including training healthcare staff on administering vaccines, enhancing its monitoring of vaccine coverage, and assessing the size of risk groups.

Population of North Macedonia
0 M
Vaccines Delivered
0 K

Targeted Groups

  • Healthcare Workers
  • Older Adults

Partners

  • Southeast European Center for Surveillance & Control (SECID)
  • North Macedonia Institute of Public Health (IPH)

A TIMELINE OF OUR Partnership

2018

PIVI partnership begins

2019

Training on e-Health system for flu

2020

Plan to digitize flu vaccination system

2021

Conducted virtual HCW training during COVID-19 pandemic

Strengthening Vaccination in High Risk Groups in North Macedonia

PIVI collaborates with the CDC, Ministries of Health, corporate partners, and others to establish and strengthen sustainable, stable influenza vaccination programs in low- and middle-income countries like North Macedonia. In the capital city of Skopje an older patient gets his influenza vaccine. The WHO lists older adults as a recommended risk group for influenza vaccination.
Health workers are also part of WHO’s recommended risk group for vaccination and are prioritized in PIVI’s partnership with North Macedonia. Through educational workshops, health workers learn about the vaccine’s efficacy and importance. Vaccination is crucial for safeguarding both health workers and their patients.
The influenza vaccine must be refrigerated (35 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit) to preserve its effectiveness. PIVI collaborates with countries to enhance vaccine management systems and cold chain capacities, leveraging web-based training platforms to provide comprehensive training and support for health workers involved in vaccine storage and handling.
North Macedonia administered 3,500 doses of the influenza vaccine during its first year or partnership with PIVI (2019-2020). The following year, this number surged to 20,000 and has remained fairly consistent annually at this level. PIVI provides technical support to partner countries to help build resilient immunization infrastructure and vaccine delivery systems essential for addressing future respiratory pandemics and other infectious disease outbreaks.

All photos courtesy of Zvonko Plavevski for PIVI (2023).