As the official godmother of vaccination, Mrs. Mialy Rajoelina, First Lady of Madagascar, remains deeply committed to vaccinating children, with a particular focus on polio. Her efforts align with the President’s declaration of 2024 as "The Year of Vaccination." Throughout the year, the First Lady has actively participated in key events and has met with numerous high-profile individuals engaged in vaccination efforts across the country.

Through the Minister of Public Health, she met with representatives from UNICEF and the WHO to discuss vital vaccination strategies and, more importantly, the ongoing fight to eliminate polio from Madagascar.

In February 2024, the First Lady hosted a distinguished mission team led by the UNICEF Polio Eradication Director from New York. The team included the WHO’s Polio RRT Coordinator for AFRO, the Polio RRT Coordinator for UNICEF-Geneva, and the Polio Coordinator for UNICEF-ESARO, along with UNICEF and WHO representatives in Madagascar. During their visit, she reaffirmed her strong commitment to vaccinating children against all vaccine-preventable diseases, especially polio.

In April 2024, the First Lady met with a high-level delegation from the Polio Surveillance Advisory Group (CSP), led by the President of Global Development and Chair of the CSP at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). The delegation also included the Regional Director of UNICEF for Eastern and Southern Africa, the WHO Regional Director for Africa (AFRO), the Director of Health Systems Strengthening and Immunization at Gavi, and the Head of the Polio Division at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Demonstrating her ongoing commitment to public health, the First Lady joined her husband, the President, for the inauguration of new facilities for the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI), including a National Warehouse and Administrative Office, on April 25, 2024. The following day, she officially launched a major catch-up campaign aimed at vaccinating zero-dose and under-vaccinated children in Ankorondrano, Antananarivo (Analamanga), alongside the CSP mission team. Seizing the opportunity, the First Lady made a heartfelt appeal to local communities, urging parents to ensure their children are vaccinated at every available opportunity, whether during routine visits or special vaccination campaigns. She also symbolically awarded certificates to mothers whose children had successfully completed their vaccination schedules.

In a further show of commitment, the First Lady personally traveled to Ampanihy Ouest (Atsimo Andrefana) to launch the first round of the Polio Vaccination Campaign in May 2024. The event, attended by the Minister of Public Health, as well as UNICEF and WHO representatives, included a symbolic vaccination of children, highlighting the importance of social and behavioral change for action. At this event, she also reminded parents and communities of the lifelong benefits of vaccination, which protects children from contracting vaccine-preventable diseases. She encouraged families to embrace health workers and community agents—frontline vaccination teams—as they visit homes to vaccinate children.
 

Photo: First lady administering a polio vaccine to a child during the campaign launch. All rights reserved.

Although the First Lady was unable to attend in person, she ensured her presence by delegating four members of her team to represent her at the launch of the follow-up measles campaign, which also included polio, catch-up vaccinations, and routine immunizations, held on October 14, 2024, in Ambositra (Amoron’i Mania Region). The event was presided over by the Minister of Public Health.

The First Lady’s advocacy efforts continue through a powerful audiovisual documentary, where she once again calls on parents to vaccinate their children during routine check-ups and vaccination campaigns. This documentary is shared widely on her digital platforms and through other media channels across Madagascar.