This edition of the newsletter is available in English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Russian.
The Linked community has been building on their immunisation learning journeys over the last couple of months with exchanges focused on health worker capacity and performance management.
Linked recently facilitated a learning circle as a follow-on to earlier virtual and in-person exchanges, where participants discussed creating a learning culture within healthcare organizations to improve health worker performance and, by extension, enhance immunisation programme outcomes. This new brief summarizes key learnings that arose from the exchange.
Linked’s study tour on Sri Lanka’s effective management and supportive supervision practices, including skills building, training, structured supervision, and on the ground experience, provided valuable insights into effective management strategies, supportive supervision, specialized training, and the importance of teamwork and a learning culture in strengthening immunisation programmes. This new brief offers several key takeaways and lessons that other countries can apply to enhance their immunisation programmes and improve overall immunisation delivery.
The global immunisation community continues to release new evidence and tools to help tackle immunisation programme challenges and reach zero-dose children. This equity map categorizes pro-equity interventions and evidence to effectively reach zero-dose children and missed communities. A new modeling study makes the case for a one-dose schedule for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. A multi-country evaluation generated robust actionable evidence of the programmatic and economic impact of using electronic immunisation registries (eIR) and electronic logistics management information systems (eLMIS) for immunisation. Finally, a gender analysis toolkit helps identify gender related barriers that need to be addressed and opportunities that can be leveraged to enable a gender equitable vaccine response.
As always, these resources, as well as other relevant and timely news, events, tools, and network updates, can be explored on the Linked website, as well as our Linked Immunisation Action Network page on LinkedIn. Please be sure to follow and share with your networks!
Warm regards,
Ganiyu Salau, Former Director, Finance & Accountability Office, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Nigeria, Consultant of the Vaccine Financing and Accountability Task Team, and Linked Steering Committee representative
IN MEMORIAM
It is with a heavy heart that we share the unexpected and profoundly sad news that the Linked community has lost our dear friend, colleague, and former Network Director, Annette Ozaltin. Annette rejoined Results for Development in 2021 to lead Linked in its evolution to support middle-income countries under the Gavi 5.0 strategy. Annette brought her remarkable leadership, intellect, energy, passion, and tenacity to our network and left an indelible mark in every aspect of our network and our hearts. Earlier this year, we said farewell to Annette as she transitioned from Linked and her family relocated from Mozambique to Jamaica, and now we are saying a final goodbye as we honor her life and legacy.
For all who knew Annette, her adventurous and spontaneous spirit was a defining trait. She thrived on new and exciting experiences, traveling the world, immersing herself in different cultures, forging meaningful connections, and spreading infectious encouragement and optimism. Her life was rich with personal and professional accomplishments, and she brought light and inspiration to all around her.
Annette’s commitment to humanitarian causes was unwavering, as she dedicated many years to making the world a better place with innumerable contributions in the field of global health. Throughout her career, she worked tirelessly to improve the lives of those in low- and middle-income countries, designing and implementing complex global health programs focused on health systems performance and resilience, notably in East Africa, West Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, where she lived and worked over her nearly 20-year career.
Annette leaves behind her husband, Emre, and her two young sons, Troy and Phoenix.
Our thoughts are with all those who had the pleasure of working with or knowing Annette.
With deep sadness,
Linked Network Facilitators
NETWORK UPDATES
Unlocking Success through Learning: Immunisation Health Worker Capacity and Performance Management
Most Linked countries identified health worker capacity and performance management as major challenges to reaching immunisation targets and/or recovering from immunisation backsliding, resulting from COVID-19. Multiple factors affect health worker performance and, by extension, immunisation programme performance. But what are the most important factors that lead to health workers performing well? Linked held a learning circle that emphasized the importance of creating a learning culture within healthcare organizations to improve health worker performance and, by extension, enhance immunisation programme outcomes. This new brief summarizes key learnings that arose from the exchange.
The Sri Lankan Experience of Effective Management and Supportive Supervision of EPI Delivery: Study Tour Key Takeaways
In July, Linked hosted a study tour on Sri Lanka’s effective management and supportive supervision practices and how the Ministry of Health systematically equips its doctors to become both competent clinicians and managers through skills building, training, structured supervision, and on-the-ground experience. The study tour provided valuable insights into effective management strategies, supportive supervision, specialized training, and the importance of teamwork and a learning culture in strengthening immunisation programmes. The lessons learned in Sri Lanka can be adapted and applied in other countries to enhance their immunisation programmes and improve overall immunisation delivery. This new brief offers several key takeaways and lessons.
FEATURED NEWS & RESOURCES
ADVAC 2024 now open for applications until 15 November
ADVAC is a two-week training programme for decision-makers, including academia, industry, governmental and non-governmental agencies. The course aims to facilitate critical decision-making in vaccinology. The 24th ADVAC will take place at Les Pensières, Annecy, France from 6 to 17 May 2024. Applications are open until 15 November 2023. Apply here.
Reaching the underserved with immunisation: map of pro-equity interventions
FHI 360, supported by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, reviewed and synthesized relevant evidence for a collection of pro-equity interventions, with a focus on their effectiveness and implementation considerations for reaching zero-dose children and missed communities across the world. Explore these interventions in this equity map, along with evidence briefs on each topic.
New modeling study found that one-dose regimen for HPV vaccination has similar health benefits to two-dose programme
A new global modeling study found that a one-dose regimen for human papillomavirus vaccination (HPV) vaccination has similar health benefits to a two-dose programme while simplifying vaccine delivery, reducing costs, and alleviating vaccine supply constraints. Read the full study findings here.
Estimating the impact of new vaccine introduction in Chad, Guinea, Somalia, and South Sudan
In this comprehensive brief produced by IVAC, a compelling case is made for introducing the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) and rotavirus vaccine in Chad, Guinea, Somalia, and South Sudan. The analysis, facilitated by the Lives Saved Tool (LiST), illuminates the potential impact of these vaccines on saving children’s lives and mitigating the suffering caused by pneumonia and diarrhea.
Evaluating the programmatic and economic impact of digital health solutions for immunisation in LMICs
With the increasing digitalization of health systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), there is growing interest from governments, donors, and implementing partners to introduce and scale-up digital systems to support more effective and efficient immunisation service delivery. This multi-country evaluation generated robust actionable evidence of the programmatic and economic impact of using electronic immunisation registries (eIR) and electronic logistics management information systems (eLMIS) for immunisation to enable future decisions on the introduction and scale-up of eIR and eLMIS in LMICs.
New modeling study on the health effects of routine measles vaccination and supplementary immunisation activities in 14 high-burden countries
A new study in the Lancet Global Health found that vaccination strategies including non-selective supplemental immunisation activities (SIAs) reduced the measles burden more than delivering a second dose of measles-containing vaccine (MCV2) through routine services. Read the full analysis, which provides information to help improve the health effects and efficiency of measles vaccination strategies.
Guidance for communicating about vaccine risks
This PAHO guidance document includes practical recommendations and lessons learned on the processes and principles of risk communication and community engagement, messaging, risk perceptions, handling false information, collaborating with partners, and pharmacovigilance. Also included are real-world examples to show how some of these principles have been applied in the Americas.
Gender Analysis for Vaccine Response: Toolkit for Risk Communication and Community Engagement Actors
Breakthrough ACTION developed a Gender Analysis Toolkit for Vaccine Response for risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) actors working with national health authorities and other partners to develop, implement, and monitor a vaccine response. This toolkit provides practical guidance to identify gender related barriers that need to be addressed and identify opportunities that can be leveraged to enable a gender equitable vaccine response that increases coverage for all.
New study reports cost to deliver COVID-19 vaccines in Côte d’Ivoire and Vietnam
The delivery of COVID-19 (C19) vaccines posed unprecedented challenges in terms of delivery volume and new target populations. Meanwhile, what it costs to deliver these vaccines remains highly uncertain. To support governments in planning and budgeting for the C19 vaccination programs, ThinkWell, partnered with Genesis Analytics and the Hanoi University of Public Health, to conduct retrospective, bottom-up studies to estimate the cost of delivering C19 vaccines in Vietnam and Côte d’Ivoire.
COUNTRY SPOTLIGHTS
Open dialogue with parents in Azerbaijan results in increase in number of vaccinated children
In a single day, about 70% of children who were unimmunised or under-immunised received their vaccines thanks to interactive educational outreach efforts aimed to build trust and demand for vaccines among parents. Learn more about the program’s successes here.
Lifelong dedication: a spotlight on vaccination champions
Over the course of nearly three decades, Dr Muminova witnessed the profound transformative influence of vaccines on society. Explore from her perspective how health workers have been empowered to support successful immunisation efforts through training and capacity building.
Promoting HPV vaccination in high-risk communities: lessons from Liberia, Nigeria and Rwanda
In early September, the Gavi CSO Constituency, PATH, the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education (RSFU), and Women Advocates for Vaccine Access (WAVA) gathered experts to discuss the integral role civil society organisations (CSOs) play in ensuring equitable access to the HPV vaccine through gender-responsive and youth-led approaches. This story outlines highlights and insights from the panelists.
WHO and EU launch Health Literacy Corner to improve health education in Armenia
WHO in Armenia has launched the first Health Literacy Corner in Yerevan. The Health Literacy Corner will provide more than 1300 students with materials and tools to enhance children’s knowledge about health-related topics. Read more about this initiative here.
Digital approaches to supportive supervision in Ghana to improve health service delivery
Since 2021, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has led the shift from using analogue supportive supervision records to a streamlined, digital app built on the Health Network Quality Improvement System (HNQIS) on tablets and smartphones. Learn more about their digital approach to supportive supervision here.
Breaking barriers, building bridges: the collaborative effort to reach every child in Nigeria
Nigeria faces a particularly alarming situation among lower- and middle-income countries, with over 2.2 million estimated zero-dose children in 2021. To address this pressing issue, the signatory agencies of the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All (SDG3 GAP) are collaborating with the Nigerian government to reach every child with immunisation services, embracing a collaborative approach as the most effective path toward achieving this critical goal. Review more on their efforts here.
Bangladesh’s remarkable journey to introduce the HPV vaccine
Earlier this month, Bangladesh introduced the HPV vaccine into its routine immunisation programme, meaning millions of girls will be protected against the leading cause of cervical cancer. Explore how they did it from the perspective of Dr Tanvir Hossen, of the country’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI).