Joint human and animal vaccination strategies to reach mobile pastoralists and their livestock in Africa: A scoping review

Abstract Background Africa’s pastoralist population is approximately 268 million, which is over a quarter of the continent’s population. They occupy more than 40% of Africa’s land, though density varies by country. Mobile pastoralists are often underreported in national censuses due to political marginalisation and difficulties in counting these groups. Vaccination services delivered through fixed facilities do not adequately reach mobile pastoralists, which impacts vaccination coverage and health outcomes for these mobile groups who are economically and culturally connected to their livestock. This scoping review explored literature on joint human-animal vaccination strategies as a One Health approach to improve vaccination coverage among these mobile pastoralists and their animals. Methods A systematic search was performed across 12 databases, following the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology and adhering to the PRISMA-ScR reporting guidelines. Results Of 2469 records screened for eligibility, 17 articles were included in a full-text assessment, and five met the eligibility criteria. The included studies were published between 2004 and 2016. Three studies were conducted in Chad and one each in Nigeria and Somalia. The implementation of the vaccination campaigns was organised in three phases: planning, implementation, and post-vaccination. Key enabling factors were identified in these joint campaigns, including the use of a participatory approach throughout both the planning and implementation phases, with a strong emphasis on intersectoral collaboration and active community engagement in all activities. Interventions were adapted during the campaigns to ensure they were contextually acceptable. The joint human and animal vaccination campaigns increased vaccination coverage among mobile pastoralists compared to baseline levels by targeting children, women of reproductive age, and their animals. Nevertheless, the campaigns highlighted human vaccination results but paid little attention to animal populations, contradicting the values of mobile pastoralists. Conclusions This review offers valuable insights into the design of joint vaccination campaigns tailored for mobile pastoralists and their livestock. Whilst joint vaccination campaigns appear to improve human vaccine uptake, more information is needed to evaluate the potential benefits that could be gained by attention to animal vaccination and improved animal health outcomes, which could further improve non-vaccine-related human health outcomes.