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Strengthening Routine Immunization and Surveillance

Strengthening Routine Immunization and Surveillance to Prevent Disease at a Lower Cost

In collaboration with UNICEF and the Capacity Project, Health Systems 20/20 has worked to expand routine immunization outreach, data collection, and analysis. Strong routine immunization and surveillance programs reduce morbidity and mortality by ensuring that vaccine coverage is high, reducing vaccine wastage and stockouts, identifying outbreaks earlier, and reducing the need to rely on resource-intensive special vaccination campaigns.

In April 2007, WHO's Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO) and the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MOPHP) conducted a quick assessment of the immunization management information system (MIS) being piloted in the Amran governorate. The MIS was developed and initially piloted in Amran through PHRplus, and Health Systems 20/20 supported expansion of its implementation from Amran into the Marib Governorate.

The team visited the governorate National Expanded Programme on Immunization office, EPI store, and the Jabal Iyal Yazid District because of low Pentavalent-3 coverage for 2006 (less than 75%) and found that the MIS provided an excellent way to determine the catchment area for immunization activities. The MIS revealed that about 20% of children from the Al Jabal Iyal Yazid District were vaccinated in the neighboring Amran District, which means that the coverage is not as low as reported. The MIS also improved stock management to prevent stockouts, excess supply, and expiration wastage. The EMRO team strongly recommended use of the MIS and encouraged expansion to other USAID-supported governorates. The assessment team recommended, and is working with the EPI, to develop a country-wide MIS expansion strategy.