by Erida Nelaj, Albania Institute for Public Health and Jan Grevendonk, PATH In May 2011, the Albanian Institute for Public Health (IPH) launched a new web-based immunization registry and vaccine ordering system in the district of Skodra. Based on the acceptability and success of the system in Skod...

by Jan Grevendonk and Elaine Griffith, PATH and Anup Akkihal, Logistimo One of the perennial struggles in any supply chain is to deliver the right amount of product to the right place at the right time. This is especially true for essential medicines and temperature-sensitive products like vaccin...

by Leah Hasselback, VillageReach and Jan Grevendonk, PATH As more and more countries consider the move from paper-based systems to electronic health information systems, there is a pressing need for global coordination and collaboration among efforts. This is particularly true in the emerging and f...

by Dmitri Davydov, UNICEF Supply Division and John Lloyd, PATH In partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Danish Technical University has begun a pro bono study on vaccine export packaging designs that would extend the safe, useful life of export packaging to allow for d...

by Drew Meek, WHO/QSS; Sheila Cattell, IFPMA; and Joanie Robertson, PATH In the packaged food and consumer products industries, barcodes have become a way of life. Most large supermarkets around the world use barcode scanners at the checkout counter, and an average smartphone can now scan barcodes...

by David Lubinski, PATH; Wendy Bomett-Dodie, USAID | Deliver; and Chipopa Kazuma, Medical Stores Limited, Zambia In February 2011, Zambia’s Ministry of Health invited partners involved in supply chain management to help them develop a shared vision, roadmap, and user requirements for a logistics ma...

This article appears in the 23 June 2011 issue of Vaccine: "Assessing the potency of oral polio vaccine kept outside of the cold chain during a national immunization campaign in Chad". This study provides proof-of-concept evidence that certain typs of OPV remain potent and thus can be kept, for limi...

Dear Moderator, I wish to underline that GAVI's push for more funds for vaccines has been questioned by the MSF. I think GAVI needs to respond to MSF and clarify their stand so that everyone knows why is something being done and at what cost. Also we wish to know what is GAVI doing for transfer of t...

Our NGO- Mission India Foundation (www.mifusa.org) has taken up another vaccine to make it accessible to kids in rural parts of India. We have the target to immunize 5000 kids and teenagers (2-18 years age) in the year 2011. We are using a Intra-muscular vi-polysaccharide vaccine for the purpose. My...

All vaccines are to be kept between 2 to 8 degree C both in Public and Private sector. I feel there is a need for 'COLD REVOLUTION' to immunize the vaccinated. Cold-revolutionP1.pdf Cold-revolutionP2.pdf...

Sharing the photos of 'VACCINE SAFE' a fridge for keeping vaccines which is locally designed for the private sector are attached. It has one zone maintaining 2 to 8 degree C temperature....

In collaboration with Merck & Co., Inc. and GSK, PATH Seattle has prepared a list of countries where each of these company's vaccines is licensed and a world map showing the countries where one of the vaccines is licensed for use and the countries where both vaccines are licensed for use. These ...

Any updates about how soon we may see HiB and Pneumococcal vaccines included in the national immunization schedule of India? What stage are the efforts of the government in this regard?...

In recent years, supply chain management has received growing attention as both a priority and a challenge for many countries scaling up immunization services with new vaccines. Indeed, the vaccine supply chain and logistics systems face the challenge to manage an increasing number of vaccines of hi...

WHO recommends that "Every refrigerator storing vaccines should have a freeze indicator" [Immunization in Practice, Module 3: The cold chain, 2004 update]. This is because the risk of freezing may be a more important danger to vaccines than heat, especially with Vaccine Vial Monitors (VVM...

I have designed a Cover page for the RI Microplan Booklet depicting the National Immunization Schedule in the 'horoscope like' matrix. This is used by the planning units in Karnataka. RI-Coverpage.pdf...

Health Centers are provided with Ice Lined Refrigerators for keeping the vaccines of one mothh requirement. ILR has 3 baskets, one in the bottom 'A' zone with lower end temperature and 2 upper baskets in zone 'B' at higher end of critically set temperature of 2 to 8 degree centigrade. Since the heat...

GoI is planning to put in place open vial policy at the facility level. In that context I would like to get comments from the members on a draft opertional guideline. This has been prepared from WHO and other resources on open vial policy. We intend to draft a pictorial guidlines covering following ...

The impact of financial and organizational logistics actions on health programs remain a major challenge for managers of health. Indeed, the logistics as essential support to build and complete a program of health must be optimized in terms of cost and efficiency for implementation of quality health...

Many thanks to Diana Chang Blanc for sharing these documents with the forum! According to the press release: "Donors committed US$ 4.3 billion at the first pledging conference held by the GAVI Alliance. This exceeds an initial target of $3.7 billion, enabling GAVI to reach more children fast...