by Nguyen Van Cuong, NEPI, and Vu Minh Huong, PATH Earlier this year, Vietnam’s National Expanded Programme on Immunization (NEPI) conducted an Effective Vaccine Management (EVM) assessment to evaluate the country’s immunization logistics systems. The results reveal that key improvements have been ...

by Morris Gargar, Consultant; Elly Tumwine, UNICEF; and Ryan McWhorter, Logistimo The Government of the Republic of South Sudan is working with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and project Optimize to test a cloud-based logistics management information system (LMIS) that uses mobile phon...

Announcing the 8th Annual 2012 Photoshare Photo Contest - a popular international event mobilizing amateur and professional photographers to share their photos for charitable and educational use. The contest has a top prize of $1,000 USD. Deadline for Entries: December 17, 2012. Entries are accep...

Cross-posted from the GAVI CSO forum. Dear GAVI CSO Constituency members and friends, Civil society (defined by GAVI as non-government and community-based organisations, faith-based groups, academic institutions, professional bodies and women's initiatives) is a critical GAVI partner in immuni...

Dear Sir, On 28 September 2012, we went to an actual waste disposal spot (in Himachal Pradesh) to vaccinate 57 rag pickers, who included women and children. Some of them were bitten by dogs many times, but could not get vaccinated due to the high costs involved. Pre-exposu...

Watch Leema, a polio volunteer, as she goes from house to house vaccinating children in Jalalabad, eastern Afghanistan under extremely demanding conditions. The biggest concern for the personnel is the security in the region but that doesn't deter them from doing their job. [youtube]http://www.yo...

Dear colleagues, Here is a rather technical question: what to do with a "non freeze-sensitive" vaccine after exposure to freezing? The ultimate objective of my question is to refine and validate operational guidance for field workers. In the case of the "freeze-sensitive" v...

Many thanks to Mojtaba Haghgou for sharing this article with the forum. Vaccine cold chain functional inventory and gap analysis: Looking at all existing cold chain equipment at one go Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Iran, July 2011 By Dr. Mohsen Zahraei, EPI Manager and Mr. G. Zamani, V...

Cool Containers has developed and introduced the PharmaPort 360 container for 5C transport of vaccines and bio-pharmaceuticals. Recently UPS delivered $9 Million worth of Flu Vaccine to Laos, it was a tricky 9000 mile delivery: http://youtu.be/p5V6f-KRWiE Cool Containers is very interested in wo...

by Dr. Joyce Charo, DVI, Kenya and Dr. Anthony Ngatia, CHAI A web-based stock management tool has just been deployed in five regional stores across Kenya. The goal is to ensure the availability of vaccines by reducing stockouts and improving vaccine program performance. Dr. Joyce Charo from the Div...

To accompany the article “Online immunization registry transforms the work of health staff in Albania” in this month’s newsletter, project Optimize has publishedhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/projectoptimize/sets/72157630314080396/" target="_blank"> a photo set on Flickr that reveals...

An interview with Silvia Bino, Albania Institute of Public Health The Institute of Public Health in Albania recently developed an online immunization registry to replace their existing paper-based system. In May 2011, the new system—named IIS—was piloted in Shkoder district. One year later, Op.ti.m...

by Dr. Nguyen Van Cuong, NEPI and Joanie Robertson, PATH Vietnam’s National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology is collaborating with project Optimize to demonstrate the benefits of a computerized immunization registry. In January 2012, a new computerized immunization registry was piloted by Viet...

An interview with Claire Dillavou, University of California, Los Angeles Earlier this year, Claire Dillavou of the University of California, Los Angeles was awarded $100,000 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through its Grand Challenges Explorations initiative*. Claire hopes to develop a...

by Raja Rao, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Earlier this year, 17 different proposals on how to optimize immunization systems were each awarded $100,000 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through its Grand Challenges Explorations initiative. Raja Rao gives an overview of each proposa...

by Cecily Stokes-Prindle and Lois Privor-Dumm, IVAC It sounds like a pretty mundane question, but the answer has major implications for delivering vaccines in low- and middle-income countries. Having consulted with experts from across the world, researchers at the International Vaccine Access Cen...

by Dr. Thierno Seydou Nourou Guèye, Pharmacie Régionale d’Approvisionnement de Saint-Louis; Madjiguène Ndiaye Coulibaly, SNEIPS*; Ibrahima Leye, consultant A project in Senegal that uses a specially equipped truck to transport vaccine supplies has proven so successful that it is now being expande...

Polio virus has been reported in a seven-year-old female child. Polio remains a threat to the children of Baluchistan. Baluchistan has recorded 69 cases in the year 2011 and two at the start of 2012. The worsening situation with regard to polio is a great cause for concern, for foreign donors have ...

Success has many fathers, failure is an orphan. Yet, we can learn so much more from failure than successes. The amazing safety of modern flight is a result of this systems-based analysis of failures. In contrast, medical safety continues poorly with a culture of 'blame' focusing on individuals rat...

The Indian government suspended research in April 2010 on the feasibility and safety of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in two Indian states (Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat) amid public concerns about its safety. This paper describes cervical cancer and cancer surveillance in India and reviews the ep...