Dear colleagues, In 2017, WHO, PATH, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UNICEF and Gavi launched the Vaccine Innovation Prioritisation Strategy (VIPS), with the aim to drive vaccine product innovation to better meet country needs and support Alliance goals on immunisation coverage and equity. Product innovation refers to completely new vaccine products or adaptations to existing products that provide measurable financial or programmatic benefits to low and middle income countries (LMICs), such as increased coverage and equity (e.g., by overcoming a ‘last mile’ barrier) or improved vaccine effectiveness. Through VIPS, the Alliance strives to understand countries’ needs to consider the financial and non-financial impact of innovations; develop common principles to measure the benefits of product innovations; and convene a platform to articulate a clear and aligned perspective on priority product innovations in development and communicate these priorities to provide greater clarity for manufacturers or partners to help inform investment decisions. At this stage of the VIPS process, we would like to ask for feedback through this survey on the relative importance of immunisation programme implementation challenges and barriers to improved coverage and equity and other pressing issues, from a country perspective. Your answers will inform VIPS assessments of vaccine product innovations in order to prioritise innovations that may be most valued in addressing country needs. This survey should take no more than 15 minutes to complete and will be available through the 30th September 2018 under one of the following links: English version - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BPMTGC9 French version - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LFH2DKQ Russian version - https://ru.surveymonkey.com/r/R3XMMMC Please feel free to forward the survey links to other stakeholders who may be interested. We apologise for the inconvenience if you have already received a link to this survey through another communication. We appreciate you making time to complete this questionnaire and look forward to continuing engagment with you on this important topic. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Anna Osborne: aosborne@gavi.org Best regards, Debbie Kristensen on behalf of the VIPS Secretariat  

This document is designed to support EPI managers and their teams in the implementation of EIR-related information systems, using the various experiences compiled at the global level – and, especially, in the Region of the Americas – as a foundation. Within this context, the main objectives of this document are as follows: 1) To generate knowledge related to information systems and immunization registries for immunization program managers at the national and subnational levels; 2) To provide teams, EPI managers, and experts in health information systems with relevant background and experiences for development, implementation, maintenance, monitoring, and evaluation of EIR systems, so as to support planning of their implementation; 3) To provide technical, functional, and operational recommendations that can serve as a basis for discussion and analysis of the standard requirements needed for development and implementation of EIRs in countries of the Region of the Americas and other regions; 4) To serve as a platform for documentation and sharing of lessons learned and successful experiences in EIR implementation. This document is structured into three major sections: background; EIR planning and design; and EIR development and implementation, taking into account the relevant processes and their structure. The content of the chapters is supported by a literature review of aspects related to EIR requirements and summarizes the experiences of the countries of the Region of the Americas and other regions that already have EIRs in place or are at the development and implementation stage. Many of the experiences presented herein have been shared during the three editions of the “Regional Meeting to Share Lessons Learned in the Development and Implementation of Electronic Individualized Vaccination Registries,” held in 2011 in Bogotá (Colombia), in 2013 in Brasilia (Brazil), and in 2016 in San José (Costa Rica), in addition to ad hoc meetings held by the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), Member States, independent consultants and other agencies such as WHO, BMGF, CDC, PATH, ECDC, AIRA, among others. We appreciate the technical and financial support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Publication is also available in Spanish and French 

Greetings iSC Colleagues, The OpenLMIS Community is proud to announce the release of OpenLMIS version 3.3, the latest release in the version 3 series specifically supporting immunization supply chains (iSC). Immunization supply chains are facing a time of decreasing resources and increasing risk, underlining the importance of managing data at all levels. In response to consistent requests to add functionality to address the needs of iSC, OpenLMIS is proud to release the first set of vaccine-specific features in the core OpenLMIS software. New features allow for greater visibility, accountability, and efficiency in vaccine management. New features include:  Robust reporting and analytics Cold chain inventory management Integration with Nexleaf Analytics Remote Temperature Monitoring (RTM) platform Integration with OpenSRP for mobile vaccine stock management Other important announcements include the release of the first iteration of an Implementer Toolkit - a single resource to guide users in the process of implementing an electronic LMIS and many new videos available on the OpenLMIS YouTube channel. Find links to the Toolkit and videos in the OpenLMIS 3.3 Release Newsletter Read more about the release in the full blog post. Full software release details can be found in the 3.3 release notes. SAVE THE DATE: Please join the OpenLMIS Community on THURSDAY, MAY 10 at 6 AM PST for a webinar presenting the latest features in the OpenLMIS software (webinar will be presented in English). Additional webinars will be presented in French (May 24) and Portuguese (June 7). Please contact us at info@openlmis.org if you would like to attend either of these additional webinars. Further details will be announced closer to the event time.  Please register for the English-language webinar in advance by clicking here.  Contact us at info@openlmis.org or visit http://openlmis.org/ to learn more about the latest release and the OpenLMIS Initiative. Yours in good health, Tenly Snow
Community Manager
OpenLMIS  

The OpenLMIS community has the pleasure to announce the milestone release of OpenLMIS version 3.2. In line with the version 3 series, 3.2 includes new features in stock management, new administrative screens, targeted performance improvements and a beta version of the Cold Chain Equipment (CCE) service. It also contains contributions from the Malawi implementation, a national implementation that is now live on OpenLMIS version 3. 3.2 represents the first milestone towards the Vaccines MVP feature set and after 3.2 there are further planned milestone releases and patch releases that will add more features to support Vaccine/EPI programs. These enhancements will continue development toward making OpenLMIS a full-featured electronic logistics management information system. Please reference the Living Product Roadmap for the upcoming release priorities. Patch releases will continue to include bug fixes, performance improvements, and pull requests are welcomed. New Features  Stock Management: Added a notification and new support for recording vaccine vial monitor (VVM) status Administrative Screens: View supply lines, geographic zones, requisition groups, and program settings Performance: Targeted improvements were made based on the first version 3 implementer’s usage and results. Improvements were made in server response times which impacts load time and memory utilization. In addition, new tooling was introduced to provide the ability to track performance improvements and bottlenecks Cold Chain Equipment (CCE) service (Beta): Includes support to upload a catalog of cold chain equipment, add equipment inventory (from the catalog) to facilities, and manually update the functional status of that equipment. Review the wiki for details on the upcoming features A full list of features, APIs, services, and tickets can be found in the 3.2.0 Release Notes. The OpenLMIS Initiative’s mission is to make powerful LMIS software available in low-resource environments – providing high-quality logistics management to improve health commodity distribution in low- and middle-income countries. OpenLMIS increases data visibility, helping supply chain managers identify and respond to commodity needs, particularly at health facilities where lack of data significantly impacts the availability of key medicines and vaccines. Learn more at openlmis.org, or by writing to info@openlmis.org

Dear TechNet Colleagues, I am pleased to share a workshop report on the Francophone OpenLMIS User-Centered Design Workshop facilitated by VillageReach and hosted at the PATH Senegal Headquarters in Dakar, Senegal, in July.  12 attendees from Ministry of Health Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) programs plus WHO International representation attended this 3-day workshop on user-centered software design in Dakar. Participants came from Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, DRC, Guinea and Senegal.  The workshop specifically focused on the workflows within OpenLMIS associated with resupplying vaccines, and had three primary objectives: Define and understand the processes for resupplying vaccines Define the workflows and data required for good vaccine resupply management Create prototypes responding to these workflows in order to inform the development of the vaccine module in OpenLMIS Since July, the OpenLMIS team has been processing an enormous amount of information that came out of the workshop. The team is working to turn these outputs into tickets and other actionable development for the OpenLMIS vaccine module.  The report contains details from the workshop, including all presentations, notes, and photos of the participants in action. Please see the final, publicly-available report here: https://openlmis.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/OP/pages/114688775/Senegal+Francophone+User+Design+Workshop+Report+--+Resupply For questions relating to the OpenLMIS Initiative, please contact Tenly Snow, OpenLMIS Community Manager at tenly.snow@openlmis.org. For questions relating to the OpenLMIS vaccine module development roadmap and feature development, please contact Mary Jo Kochendorfer, OpenLMIS Product Manager at maryjo.kochendorfer@openlmis.org  -- Tenly 

Dear colleagues, Gates and USAID are excited to announce a new Grand Challenges Exploration for Health Supply Chains. Grand Challenges Explorations fosters early-stage discovery research to expand the pipeline of ideas for solving our greatest global health and development challenges. Launched in 2008 with an initial $100 million commitment from the foundation, Grand Challenges Explorations grants have already been awarded to more than 1200 researchers in more than 65 countries. Applicants can be at any experience level; in any discipline; and from any organization, including colleges and universities, government laboratories, research institutions, non-profit organizations, and for-profit companies. Initial grants will be US $100,000 each, and projects showing promise will have the opportunity to receive additional funding of up to US $1 million. We are accepting applications on the following four topics until May 3, 2017: • Health Systems Strengthening: Ensuring Effective Health Supply Chains; USAID BAA Health Supply Chain announcements Grants.gov or FBO.gov • New Approaches for Improving Timeliness of Routine Immunizations in Low-Resource Settings; • Wearables and Technology for Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health Behavior Change; • Innovations for Integrated Diagnostics Systems; Full descriptions of the new topics and application instructions in English, French, Korean, Portuguese, Chinese and Spanish will be available very soon. For details and application instructions, please visit the Grand Challenges website. We also invite you to check this blogs: Ensuring Effective Health Supply Chains or USAID’s joint announcement on the Grand Challenges Exploration We look forward to receiving innovative ideas from around the world and from all disciplines. If you have a great idea, please apply. If you know someone else who may have a great idea, please forward this message. We want to encourage new partners and ideas and ask for you to share through your networks. Thank you for your commitment to solving the world's greatest health and development challenges. Best Regards, Kaleb, Kevin and Marissa

A new open-access tool, Immunization Financing Resource Guide, is now available for advocates, policymakers, and program managers in low- and middle-income countries. The guide includes 26 briefs, including 8 country case studies, and covers a range of topics such as evaluating the pros and cons of potential sources of financing; understanding and planning for the costs of immunization programs; assessing which vaccines to adopt; getting more value for money through improved purchasing and procurement practices; and building broad political support for these programs. The guide was produced by Results for Development, based on research funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Dose per Container Partnership (DPCP)
The issue: Multi-dose containers are used to offer lower prices, higher supply volumes, and minimize cold chain storage and distribution requirements. As new, more expensive, vaccines are introduced in multi-dose presentations, maximizing the use of every dose in a container increases in importance. HCWs need to be more strategic about when to open a container; diligent about how they care for open containers, and potentially more active with communication and community outreach to ensure optimal attendance and timely vaccination of every child. Thus, the number of doses per container (DCP) may also impact on health systems in terms of timely, safe and equitable vaccination coverage, supply and cold chain, wastage rates, cost and HCW behavior.
Immunization stakeholders need information and tools to assess which dose per container presentations are appropriate for a country’s specific context and priorities.
Initial 2015 response: With Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) funding, JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI) helped identify evidence gaps by interviewing key stakeholders and analyzing existing research. An informal network of partners interested in advancing this work was created after a consultative meeting in July 2015.
Launch of the partnership: The Dose Per Container Partnership (DPCP) was launched in March 2016 as a project, funded by the BMGF and implemented by JSI in partnership with PATH, Agence de Médecine Préventive (AMP), Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), HERMES modeling team and the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) / Johns Hopkins University. The DPCP aims to address the complexity of vaccine product and program decision-making to include DPC considerations. Understanding and assessing the trade-offs between cost and health impact allows better informed decisions about the impact of the dose per container selected.
DPCP objectives and work streams: The DPCP project will run from February 2016 – December 2017, guided by a Technical Advisory Group (TAG), and aims to achieve two objectives:
i) To gain a deeper understanding of the decision making processes, trade-offs, data
and tools used to assess DPC decisions at global and national levels in order to recommend process improvements;
ii) To provide guidance and tools including trade-offs to be considered by countries and facilitate
sharing of best practices for country level decision makers.
These will be implemented through three technical work streams:

A global cross-country review of current DPC-related decision making tools and processes;
Prospective research studies in two African countriesl will include data collection to improve modeling efforts, economic analysis and see the actual effect on the various systems variables; and
Synthesis of data supporting global level policy and country decisions.


Stakeholders: DPCP aims to inform, support and influence stakeholders at:
a) Global level, by providing evidence that fills critical gaps in knowledge, analysis, and policy. This includes ensuring that stakeholders will continue to be informed about sustainable decisions on DPC when considering vaccine products and program designs; and
b) Country level, by producing easy-to-use and -understand guides and tools to assess DPC tradeoffs, including cost and systems impact to inform vaccine product selection
Information about the DPCP will be made available through partners engaged with the project, the JSI website, announcements via the technet forum and various formal and informal opportunities where immunization practitioners meet globally, regionally or nationally.
http://jsi.com/JSIInternet/IntlHealth/project/display.cfm?ctid=na&cid=na&tid=40&id=22641

Earlier this month, the Dose Per Container Partnership (DPCP) project was launched. This Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation project is implemented by JSI and partners (PATH, Agence de Médecine Préventive (AMP), Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), HERMES modelling team and the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) / Johns Hopkins University). The project will help identify evidence needed to support better-informed decision making related to the trade-offs between cost and health systems impact of vaccine doses per container (DPC). The project runs from February 2016 to December 2017 and has potential to influence country, regional and global equity and systems related policies, and have impact on supply and demand sides of various DPC options with three main deliverables: i) A global review of current decision making tools and processes related to DPC; ii) Prospective research studies in Tanzania and Senegal, including data collection to improve modeling efforts and economic analysis of this topic; and iii) Synthesis of data and harmonization of tools supporting global level policy and country decisions. Attached is an overview of the project and more details are available at http://jsi.com/JSIInternet/IntlHealth/project/display.cfm?ctid=na&cid=na&tid=40&id=22641