New materials are available on the "Coverage Surveys" page of TechNet-21 (https://www.technet-21.org/en/topics/vaccination-coverage-surveys) on the "17 Steps to do a Coverage Survey". This collection contains a series of documents & presentations outlining the basic steps of a vaccination coverage survey, as well as some presentations on commonly asked questions and variations on a coverage survey. This also contains links to resources (templates, models, examples, etc). This link takes you to the drop box folder with all the materials. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/96ho3ta1l2qo65s/AAAAcmmNryuBksMk7o5mcLEza?dl=0

A textbook from lectures we used to give at the “Ciro de Quadros Vaccinology Course for Latin America” just got published by the Sabin Institute: https://www.sabin.org/programs/training-education/vaccinology-book. The book is available in English and Spanish. My chapter on information systems for EPI (part of section 3) is attached.

Hereby to share a new resource on IIS produced by the Vaccine-preventable diseases at ECDC in collaboration with partners globally: Designing and implementing an immunisation information system. A handbook for those involved in the design, implementation or management of immunisation information systems https://www.technet-21.org/en/library/explore/immunization-information-systems-coverage-monitoring/5027-handbook-designing-and-implementing-an-immunisation-information-system We would like to hereby acknowledge the contribution of a number of experts in contributing to this report and providing case-studies based on their experience in Immunisation information systems. We hope this document will prove relevant in further informing decisions and discussions at National Level. The handbook proposes strategies that build on the experiences of IIS experts; provides case studies from actual programmes to highlight particular aspects of IIS practice, including functionalities, benefits, challenges, and implementation. It aims to share experiences and explore ideas that IIS experts consider valuable for developing a new IIS or upgrading an existing system,.  The handbook is intended for all those involved in the design, implementation, management or continuous improvement of IIS, such as immunisation programme managers and operational IIS staff; and also public health experts and policymakers. For more information please contact Tarik Derrough, Senior Expert VPD team, ECDC tarik.derrough@ecdc.europa.eu 

The Gavi Secretariat has released a global  standards document for immunisation supply chain (iSC) information systems.  A hallmark of effective supply chains is end-to-end (E2E) visibility of supply and demand data that are used to make decisions and take effective action. For immunisation programmes, a critical success factor is access to accurate, complete and timely data on vaccine utilisation and distribution, the performance and deployment of cold chain equipment (CCE), and the routine use of this data to inform operations and management decisions. Growing demand for digital supply chain software solutions—often referred to as logistics management information systems (LMIS)—from Gavi-eligible countries has stimulated software developers and service providers, remote temperature monitoring device innovators, and refrigerator manufacturers to develop and test a variety of software and hardware products. However, the absence of a normative standard of features required of a LMIS has resulted in costly development of bespoke local solutions, and limited choice of off-the-shelf systems that are interoperable, extensible, and scalable. The purpose of the Target Software Standards for Vaccine Supply Chain Information Systems is to help guide the market of potential LMIS solution providers by defining normative standards for LMIS solutions adapted to the unique needs of immunisation supply chains in low and middle income countries. The objectives of this Target Software Standards (TSS) are to ensure countries have access to: Best-in-Class digital LMIS that meet the unique needs of the iSC and a country’s particular supply chain design and strategy; Choice in software hosting, administration, and value-added business intelligence services; A range of cost models that enable cost-benefit analysis of different solutions and sustainable total cost of ownership. While the TSS is focused on vaccines by incompassing cold chain equipment and temperature monitoring data, the standards can be applied to any other pharmaceutial product that requires an LMIS. Gavi has collaborated with The Global Fund and other development partners to ensure that the TSS supports essential medicines, programme products, and diagnostic supplies in the Global Health supply chain. Countries are encouraged to use the Target Software Standards when determining their LMIS needs and seeking off-the-shelf software, or in guiding upgrades to existing systems. Software suppiers are encouraged to use the TSS to inform their software development roadmap priorities to ensure their product supports the range of features called for in the TSS.  Download a copy of the Target Software Standards for Vaccine Supply Chain Information Systems.

New article on "Global Routine Vaccination Coverage - 2017" was recently published in the CDC MMWR. Article can be accessed here: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/67/wr/mm6745a2.htm?s_cid=mm6745a2_e

The WHO website was updated with the most up to data WHO/UNICEF JRF data. The main launching page for this data is accessible from: http://www.who.int/immunization/monitoring_surveillance/data/en/ . From there you will be able to access: Country Profiles: http://apps.who.int/immunization_monitoring/globalsummary that include some charts and graphs; Regional and Global Summaries (from points 1 and 2 of the page); Disease incidence data in html or excel format; Immunization coverage data: Country official estimates, administrative data, HPV administered dose per age range,….; Immunization system indicators in html or excel format; And immunization schedule data: http://apps.who.int/immunization_monitoring/globalsummary/schedules. For those of you that have the immunization app on their devices, you may have noticed that the data was updated as well. For those that want to download it, instructions and tutorials are available from: http://www.who.int/immunization/monitoring_surveillance/en/. Comments, feedback and suggestions are welcomed to vpdata@who.int. The JRF Team

A WHO software application, the Health Equity Assessment Toolkit (HEAT), conceptualized by Ahmad Reza Hosseinpoor and Anne Schlotheuber of the department of Information, Evidence and Research, came "highly commended" in the prestigious British Medical Association (BMA) book competition on 4 September. Readers can use the software on their computers and mobile devices, to assess health equity in countries for a range of indicators and dimensions. Health equity data are visualized in a variety of customisable tables and graphs, making the tool interactive and easy to use.  “The issue of health inequalities is central to much of the thinking around health improvement globally and no region is exempt from the pernicious effect of health and social inequalities,” the judges said. “This toolkit is particularly relevant in supporting the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs).” The database is continually updated and this, the judges said, is particularly important for low and middle-income countries where people may not have the resources to update the database themselves. When HEAT was first launched, it was restricted to data from the WHO’s Health Equity Monitor database, which contains disaggregated data on reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health for 111 countries. The new edition of the toolkit, called HEAT Plus, enables users to upload data from their own sources, making it a comprehensive tool for analysing and reporting in any health topic and beyond at global, national, subnational levels. HEAT Plus, when it was tested in Indonesia, allowed people in that country to analyse and interpret inequalities in many other health topics using vast amounts of its own data including survey and facilities data. “Monitoring health inequality is essential to ensure no one is being left behind,” said Dr Ahmad Reza Hosseinpoor, who leads WHO’s work on health equity monitoring. “WHO has developed a package of resources and tools to encourage the practice of and build capacity for global and national health inequality monitoring. HEAT provides evidence on the state of health inequality and can help countries set priorities and establish equity-oriented policies, programs and interventions.” --> To access HEAT and HEAT Plus, visit the following website: http://www.who.int/gho/health_equity/assessment_toolkit/en/ To read more about this, please see attachment.

Dear colleagues,  The results of external evaluations assessing MyChild Solution based on Smart Paper Technology in Afghanistan are now available. These evaluations assessed the data quality, operational costs, efficiency gains as well as transfer of work processes to the existing health system in Afghanistan. In 2015, the Shifo Foundation, the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA), IKEA Foundation, and the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) in Afghanistan started a joint collaboration to strengthen child health services in Afghanistan. Data and information are fundamental to inform decisions and assist key stakeholders to allocate appropriate resources to continuously improve the quality of health services. Therefore, one of the main objectives of the collaboration was to strengthen the quality of data and its utilisation in the Expanded Programme on Immunisation using an innovation based on Smart Paper Technology called MyChild Solution. MyChild Solution is an innovation developed by Shifo Foundation based on Smart Paper Technology. The solution was implemented and evaluated to inform evidence-based decisions on the scale up of the programme. MyChild Solution was implemented in 141 health service delivery points including fixed, outreached, and mobile clinics in the Mehterlam District of Laghman Province in Afghanistan. Currently, using MyChild Solution, more than 45,000 children have been registered, more than 9,000 children are fully vaccinated and more than 11,000 children are being followed up with SMS messages which inform parents about vaccination schedules. From the beginning of the programme, project stakeholders set several programme key success indicators which informed project development and external evaluations. These success indicators measured data quality such as completeness of data, timeliness, internal consistency, and external consistency and analysed if MyChild Solution could be integrated into the existing health system, thus sustained by the government. In June 2018, two external evaluations were conducted to assess data quality, operational costs, and efficiency gains as well as the transfer of work processes to the existing health system. This article summarises the results of these external evaluation reports. The data quality and review toolkit developed by World Health Organisation was used to evaluate the quality of data generated by MyChild Solution. The assessment showed high-quality data generated from MyChild Solution in every indicator, including completeness (100%), timeliness (91,66%), internal consistency (100%), and external consistency (99,4%). Moreover, the ratio of data recording error was low in the study and ranged from 0.05% to 1.7% for two selected data recording errors. The second evaluation investigated time efficiency. This evaluation assessed the time health workers spent on administrative tasks during and after delivery of care with MyChild Solution and compared the results with existing Health Management Information System(HMIS) tools. Results showed that 64% to 96% of time spent on administration could be reduced with MyChild Solution when compared to the current HMIS. Incremental cost analysis was done considering two scenarios. The first scenario took into account the monetary value of the reduced time for administration whereas the second scenario was conducted without the time reduction values. The evaluation also took into account two versions of the MyChild Solution. The first evaluation assessed MyChild Forms which is an innovation on facility-based data management tools. The second evaluation assessed MyChild Card which is an innovation modelled after the child health card. When adding the value of the reduced administration time, the total national cost of MyChild Card was 611,974 USD and the total national cost of MyChild Forms was 316,436 USD. Comparatively, the existing HMIS total national cost was 873,253 USD. Over a five-year period, MyChild Forms would save around 2,938,543 USD and MyChild Card would save around 1,378,875 USD compared to the existing HMIS system. When administration time is removed from the analysis, MyChild Card (501,622 USD) and MyChild Forms (206,126 USD) amounted to be more costly than HMIS forms (195,581 USD). It is noteworthy that when administration time is excluded from the analysis, MyChild Forms were 5% more expensive than HMIS. The second report displayed the results of the transfer of work processes to the existing health system. This is one of the key elements to evaluate the sustainability of the programme as well as how successful management was by the local stakeholders in Afghanistan. The results indicate that 95% of the processes essential to the management of MyChild Solution had been transferred to the local stakeholders in Mehterlam District. In most cases, these processes had been transferred in a way that is both accurate and sustainable. The remaining 5% of processes are planned to be fully transferred to Mehterlam by the end of 2018 to increase process accuracy. The external evaluation reports provide information on the effects of MyChild Solution from four different perspectives which give valuable insights to key stakeholders. These perspectives are data quality, costs, efficiency gains and transfer of work processes to the local level. Based on the findings derived from these external evaluations Shifo, SCA, and MoPH will collaborate to further expand and investigate the intervention on a larger level to inform decision making for the national implementation of the programme. The programme positively addressed all the key success metrics set in 2015 and brings opportunities to empower health and social workers at all levels of healthcare delivery who continuously work to improve quality of child health services across the country based on the reliable and relevant information. The full reports and additional information about MyChild Solution can be accessed using these links below: 1) Questing The MyChild Solution in Afghanistan- An external evaluation of Data Quality, Operational Cost and Efficiency: https://shifo.org/doc/rmnch/MyChildExternalEvaluationAfghanistan2018.pdf 2) MyChild Solution in Afghanistan: An External Evaluation — Transfer of Work Processes to Existing Health System: https://shifo.org/doc/rmnch/ShifoExternalEvaluationTransferProcessAfghanistan.pdf 3) About MyChild Solution based on Smart Paper Technology: https://shifo.org/en/solution/ 4) Project progress in Afghanistan: https://shifo.org/en/work/afghanistan/ 5) Link to the summary of the reports: https://medium.com/shifo-news/external-evaluation-results-313c92ddcb88    Looking forward to your follow up questions/discussions. Kind regards, Nargis  

Dear colleagues, Warm greetings from me and KVG team. On 15th Aug 012, I mailed “Dewalbari – one pager” highlighting the unprecedented lesson learnt by me – taught by Bina, Pumpum, 4 AWS and 4 ASHAs of Dewalbari HSC of Jamtara. On 4th Saturday – 28th July 2014, ANM Mrs Bina screamed and jubilantly declared that her HSC became “IRI free”. Bina et al proved that the strategy of 4 weeks in 4 successive months can rapidly clear the backlog, attain very high coverage (>90%) of both FIC and the booster. Later, I learnt from CMO, Dr Ashok that they were the trainers and the entire district attained and sustained high coverage inspite of universal vacancies there by escaped from MI list. Bina et al + the other 3 “A”ces of other 4 HSCs [Chandradipa, Madhupur, Kalhor & Rakti] helped in publishing the article – ‘IRI Simulation Study’. On seeing Dewalbari model, ANMs – Mrs Rekha & Mrs Shobitha of Sampaje PHC – the Rural Training Center (RHTC) of our College, demanded for replication giving birth to series of models: Peraje template, Immunogram study of Sampaje, Upparhalli template, Nellimaradhalli template, Gummankolli template, Operation SIgMA, IRI compatible micro-planning books by 57 planning units of ‘difficult district’ – Chikkaballapura in just 6 months,  Guthigar PHC model in 15 days, Kollamogru PHC model in 5 days, Mission Indradhanush Simulation Study [MISS Sampaje], ANISOTIC Baby, EuVac Baby. With these, we declared the task list of what KVG team can do with time span through the approach of learning by doing and working together. This methodology taught me how to learn and facilitate the grass-root level service providers in developing the simplest, surest, user friendly, replicable tool and working together, not only for ourselves but for the whole district/state/nation – the mankind of the world, for the latter half, honorable PM of India got standing ovation for the 7th time when he addressed 153 countries. All the above were already shared with the stakeholders at all levels. And now: We [me & two Asst Professors] happened to visit recently allotted PHC to our Medical College. Out of “RI” passion, requested for the Master register, analysed the data and found scope for facilitating 3 ‘A’ces. With mutual proactive active participation – both KVG team and the Government staff, we will surely learn a few more lessons which will simply help us to improve the coverage. This is one more lesson learnt from Dr Vijay Kiran Mente: “IF YOU FIND SOME LAPSES OR OPERATIONAL GAPS, IF YOU CAN IMPROVE, DO IT RIGHT ON THE SPOT, DO NOT ESCALATE TO THE SUPERIORS”. Shortly we wish to share the lessons learnt by our team with all the stakeholders as we have been doing. With regards Holla n Team

As countries increasingly implement and scale electronic immunization registries (EIRs), it will be critical that they exchange lessons and best practices. The BID Initiative, which is led by PATH, in partnership with the governments of Tanzania and Zambia, recently hosted delegates in Tanzania from PATH's Vietnam office and the country's Ministry of Health. Despite their different health contexts and challenges, Vietnam and Tanzania have much to learn from each other. In Vietnam, PATH’s pilot EIR, called ImmReg, was first developed and tested in 2012, before expanding into the National Immunization Information System (NIIS), which was launched in 2017. Last month’s visit was a chance to deepen this partnership and trade lessons about the challenges and successes of securing government buy-in and building health system capacity for EIRs. Check out several of the takeaways from the recent study visit in this blog post.  

Working together to unlock the lifesaving power of data 2018 marks the 20th anniversary of WHO and UNICEF’s Joint Reporting Form (JRF) on Immunization – a single form used by all countries to record data on national immunization rates and cases of vaccine-preventable diseases; track vaccine supply and pricing; and monitor immunization schedules and policies. Since the introduction of the form in 1998, immunization data for more than 2.7 billion newborns have been recorded using the JRF. But collection of immunization data did not start as a joint WHO-UNICEF process. While our two organizations both began collecting national immunization coverage data in the late 1970s, as part of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), which aims to make vaccines available to all children, we collected it independently, at different times of the year, and using different methods.  This approach produced differing global coverage estimates, making it challenging for the international community to use these estimates to target support where it was most needed. The dual reporting approach also placed a heavy burden on countries, requiring them to collect and report data twice each year. The JRF was a game changer – this joint WHO-UNICEF, worldwide immunization data collection process using uniform methodology and resulting in a single set of more robust estimates, which is not only instrumental in helping immunization stakeholders and partners monitor immunization progress towards targets of the Global Vaccine Action Plan, but is also critical in measuring the impact of global immunization investments. In 1998, when the JRF was first launched, most country immunization programmes offered vaccination against six diseases – diphtheria, measles, pertussis, polio, tetanus and tuberculosis – and focused mainly on children under one year of age.  Today, scientific progress and development have expanded the scope of immunization programmes: countries now vaccinate against a minimum of 10 diseases, the number of available vaccines has more than tripled, and vaccinations are now delivered throughout the life-course. These changes have brought a need for more sophisticated monitoring and data systems that can track and manage this increased programme complexity.  In response, innovations in data collection enable the JRF to not only collect data on vaccination coverage and the number of cases of vaccine-preventable diseases, it also tracks the prices of vaccines in 195 countries, and records progress against global immunization goals.   See the full Commentary From Dr Princess Nothemba Simelela, Assistant Director-General, Family, Women, Children and Adolescents, WHO and Robin Nandy, Principal Advisor & Chief of Immunizations, UNICEF

During the GIM conducted in Rwanda in June 2018, a breakout session entitled “Innovations & Transitions for Immunization Data” was moderated by Jan Grevendonk, WHO HQ, and Hope Johnson, The Gavi Alliance.  Participants discussed the transitions that are taking place with immunization data, such as the move from parallel to integrated systems, aggregate data to individual record keeping, infant to life course vaccination, systems and tools moving from paper to cloud, and the need to move from data for reporting to data for action. They heard from several country and regional experiences and innovations: George Bonsu (Ghana EPI), talked about how Ghana integrated the DVMT EPI reporting systems into the national HMIS (DHIMS). Alain Poy (WHO/AFRO) presented the routine immunization module within DHIS2, which was developed by WHO and the University of Oslo, and is now being implemented in countries in the African Region. Josephine Simwinga (Zambia EPI) shared her experiences with the implementation of electronic systems for logistics and immunization registries. Martha Velandia (PAHO) talked about the progress and lessons learned with Electronic Immunization Registries in the region. Emma Hannay (Acasus) showed how EPI in Punjab (Pakistan) increased accountability through the use of a mobile app for health workers. Lora Shimp (JSI) highlighted the continued importance of paper records and tools as she presented on data quality and use at the facility level. Laurie Werner (PATH) evaluated the evidence behind data interventions, as found by the IDEA project. Presentations from the Data Session at the GIM Meeting 2018 can be found here: https://www.technet-21.org/en/library/main/4913

WHO would like to announce that the new WHO Vaccination Coverage Cluster Surveys Reference Manual is available on the Technet website on the Coverage Surveys page. This document can be downloaded from here: https://www.technet-21.org/en/topics/vaccination-coverage-surveys under the section on "Current WHO reference manuals"      

Dear TechNet-21 Colleagues, The OpenLMIS Community is hosting a French-language webinar this Thursday, May 24 at 6 AM PST / 13h00 UTC on the latest features in the OpenLMIS 3.3 release. Details for the meeting including the call-in number are below, and the event is listed in the TechNet-21 events calendar.  Hope to see you there!  Tenly Snow
OpenLMIS Community Manager   Invitation en français  Salutations chers collègues, La communauté OpenLMIS organise un webinar en français le 24 mai à 13h00 UTC (6h PST) pour présenter et discuter des dernières fonctionnalités d'OpenLMIS. Une invitation calendrier est jointe. Un webinar supplémentaire en portugais (7 juin) est prévu. Réjoignez l'appel sur Zoom en utilisant ce lien:  
Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/128422371 Meilleurs vœux dans votre travail,
Mme. Tenly SNOW
Responsable de la Communauté OpenLMIS   Invitation in English Dear colleagues, The OpenLMIS Community is hosting a webinar in French on May 24 at 13h00 UTC (6 AM PST) to present, demo, and discuss the latest features in the OpenLMIS software. A calendar invitation is attached.  An additional webinar in Portuguese is planned for June 7.  Join the call by using this link: 
Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/128422371      

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 TechNet Colleagues, Please save the date on Thursday, May 10 at 13h00 UTC (6:00 AM PST) when the OpenLMIS Community will host 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). Further details will be announced closer to the event time, but please feel free to contact us at info@openlmis.org if you would like to attend either of these additional webinars.  Please register for the English-language webinar in advance by clicking here.  Upon registering you will receive call-in details and a calendar invitation.  Contact us at info@openlmis.org or visit http://openlmis.org/ to learn more about the latest release and the OpenLMIS Initiative. Warm regards, Tenly Snow
Community Manager
OpenLMIS

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  

Greetings,  A new blog is available on openlmis.org, presenting an exciting collaboration between OpenLMIS and Nexleaf Analytics to incorporate remote temperature monitoring (RTM) data into the OpenLMIS logistics software: http://openlmis.org/integrating-cold-chain-data-openlmis-collaboration-nexleaf-analytics/ This collaboration allows anyone adopting OpenLMIS and utilizing any RTM system to have an informed view of the cold chain status alongside their core vaccine stock and delivery data.  Integrating data systems can reduce data entry, improve data quality and usability, and accelerate insight generation. Combining datasets from different sources provides new opportunities for analysis and insight into the supply chain and streamlines processes for health workers and decision-makers alike. The interfaces developed by OpenLMIS and Nexleaf are open and standards based. This means that any provider of RTM hardware or data analysis systems will be able to integrate with OpenLMIS using the interfaces being developed by this project. This work is designed to benefit all manufacturers and providers of RTM hardware and software systems. We look forward to your feedback on the article. Happy reading and best wishes in your work.  Tenly Snow
OpenLMIS Community Manager   

Dear colleagues,  Wanted to share the recent article we wrote about the big pivot we made in Afghanistan and the story of perseverance and flexibility in partnerships.  It’s great to collaborate with partners, that persevere on the outcomes and are flexible to change the methods, which for us was shifting from high-tech to smart-tech to make data quality and use a reality in low resource settings. We are glad that we made that pivot, and 2 years since we started working in Mehterlam District in Afghanistan, almost all work processes have been transferred/integrated into existing health system structure. We are now in the third year in the project, and we are transferring remaining 10% of work processes.  And it looks like several innovations we developed in Afghanistan are making their way to be further expanded in Laghman Province and to other countries.    Here is a link to the article: https://medium.com/shifo-news/strong-partnerships-and-flexible-thinking-lessons-in-innovation-from-afghanistan-56f3ce0a2682 Enjoy reading and have a wonderful week! Nargis from Shifo Foundation

Dear TechNet-21 Members, Please join OpenLMIS on November 30th at 8 AM PST/ 5 PM CET/ 7 PM EAT for a webinar presenting details on the current roadmap and latest developments in the OpenLMIS v3 vaccine module. This webinar will serve as a refresher for those involved with the development of the vaccine module and a presentation of the roadmap and recently developed features for those interested in learning more about how OpenLMIS manages vaccines. Please register in advance for this webinar by visiting: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/9b1a18dcc87534aec5b9141539e44ee6 After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about call-in details to join the meeting. We look forward to speaking with you soon! Please feel free to forward this invitation to your colleagues as well. Best regards, Tenly Snow, OpenLMIS Community Manager

Greetings:   What is the potential and actual role of telehealth for EPI?   Telenetdoctor.com has designed a program that measures the monitoring and preventive care applications between physicians and patients/children.   Appreciate your reply.   Lawrence    

CDC published Progress in Childhood Vaccination Data in Immunization Information Systems—United States, 2013–2016 (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/wr/pdfs/mm6643a4-H.pdf) in the November 3 issue of MMWR (pages 1178–81). A summary made available to the press is reprinted below.

IISs [Immunization Information Systems] are computerized, population-based systems that consolidate vaccination data from providers for clinical and public health use. Data from 2013–2016 were analyzed to assess progress made in four priority areas: 1) pediatric data completeness, 2) bidirectional data exchange with electronic health records, 3) pediatric clinical decision support for immunizations, and 4) ability to generate jurisdictional and provider-level vaccination coverage estimates. Progress was noted since 2013, but continued effort is needed to implement these functionalities among all IISs. Success in these priority areas bolsters public health practitioners’ ability to attain high childhood vaccination coverage and prepares IISs to develop more advanced functionalities. Success also supports the achievement of federal immunization objectives, including using IISs as supplemental sampling frames for vaccination coverage surveys.

Related Link CDC's Immunization Information Systems (IIS) web section (https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/iis/index.html)

PAHO have released a few interesting articles on ICT and Data in their Immunization Newsletter. Please see attached for further reading.

Data for over 20 000 subnational entities were received, which represents about two-thirds of all the surviving infants worldwide. The information is essential for countries to target their efforts to address gaps and increase immunization coverage. By visiting our website ( http://www.who.int/immunization/monitoring_surveillance/data/subnational/en/) you will be able to access a summary presentation of the data received, information on the limitations of the data and some country specific visuals.

  National and subnational participants from Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan and Syria gathered at the Dead Sea, Jordan from 25 to 27 September to participate in a MENA Regional Workshop on Equity-Informed Microplanning. The workshop was organized by UNICEF MENARO in close technical collaboration with GAVI, US CDC, JSI, WHO and EMPHNET. The objective of the workshop was to improve the capacity of national and sub-national level EPI and data managers to analyze immunization data with an equity lens, learn about existing methodologies, tools and Information and Communication Technology applications and exchange ideas and best practices on how to account for special populations such as transient, conflict affected, and urban slums, the non-public sector, immunization during the second year of life, missed opportunities and equity-informed microplanning and resource allocation.   Background:   In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, countries have been faced with enormous threats and challenges due to the proliferation of political conflicts which have led to massive internally displaced people and refugees. Additionally economic austerities and environmental degradations in recent decades have contributed to extensive population movements, such as migration and urbanization. Moreover, health financing has been impacted due to competing priorities and commitments and an increasingly disturbing trend in out of pocket expenditures is observed.   In the meantime, as immunization programs have matured, they have set impressively ambitious goals, for instance to reach the populations that are the hardest to reach and improve coverage across geographic, socio-economic and demographic groups. Yet, current data systems in many countries are not designed with the goals of universal health coverage and equity in mind and often focus on populations already reached by programs.   Consequently, there is often a lack of information about those who are never vaccinated, those who do not complete their vaccinations and those who opt out. Moreover, in many countries microplans are updated or developed without particular focus on equity and where the private and civil society sectors have a major role in providing services, there is a lack of coordination and communication, and the data do not often get reported, recorded and incorporated as part of the country’s planning process. Finally existing plans and tools for registering, recording and reporting coverage do not always take into account immunization during the second year of life and the missed opportunities.  

This month several new data monitoring and supply videos have been added to www.immunizationacademy.com, including nine new training videos in Swahili. Anyone working in support of EPI can be notified when new videos are added via WhatsApp. Using WhatsApp, text "join" to +255 765 578 712 and you will be added to the Immunization Academy broadcast list. The Immunization Academy is a BMGF-sponsored initiative that provides health professionals with instant access to a comprehensive library of short, practical videos to support immunization training and delivery.

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

This is the fourth topic in my six-part Vaccine Supply Chain Futures series (Please see the attached file for the full text)  focused on the introduction of a system of remote temperature monitoring integrated with equipment maintenance management. Remote temperature monitoring systems represent an opportunity for a system-wide improvement in the performance of equipment maintenance and consequently, more reliable vaccine distribution. Remote temperature monitoring automatically transmits data to a central server where it is analysed and disseminated to managers. This is a significant step forward compared to stand-alone temperature recording in each refrigerator. It replaces manual recording and paper reporting systems that have always suffered from lack of compliance and inaccuracy due to incomplete, delayed and faulty data aggregation. Remote Temperature Monitoring is a means to: Supervise health facilities to maintain correct storage temperatures, Track the efficiency of equipment maintenance at local level, Country wide data on the performance in use of each model will inform the choice of equipment for procurement to maximize reliability, Suitably anonymous versions of the country data will be used at international level to inform equipment manufacturers and regulatory experts on the rates of failure and their principal causes. Please reply to this post with your views and I would be grateful if you could answer just four questions in this SurveyMonkey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/L38J79Q I will return the analysis to you at the end of this week and the results will be posted before the TechNet Conference for all five topics. Please see the attached file for the full text. Thank you! 

Dear all, Routine immunizations and new vaccine introductions are two best buys in global health. But while immunization coverage has increased dramatically in the last decade, more must be done to ensure every child is reached. To bridge this gap, we need reliable, easily accessed and actionable data on the barriers impeding immunizations, coupled with trained data users at all levels of the health system. The BID Initiative is grounded in the belief that better data, plus better decisions will lead to better health outcomes. Partnering with Tanzania and Zambia, the BID Initiative developed, tested, and rolled out interventions that address some of the most pressing routine immunization service delivery challenges, such as poor visibility into vaccine supplies and difficulty identifying children who default on immunization schedules. These seven briefs summarize the BID Initiative’s approaches and interventions, and share recommendations and lessons learned for others interested in improving immunization data quality and use. We are thrilled to share them with you! Recommendations and Lessons Learned: Introduction to the Briefs Recommendations and Lessons Learned: Data Use Recommendations and Lessons Learned: Electronic Immunization Registries Recommendations and Lessons Learned: Software Development Cycle Recommendations and Lessons Learned: Rollout Strategy Recommendations and Lessons Learned: Change Management  Recommendations and Lessons Learned: Peer Learning Recommendations and Lessons Learned: Sustainability Take Care,
Celina & the BID Initiative Team

Dear colleagues,  Please find attached from the Interagency Supply Chain Group.  Kind regards,  Hitesh  Coordinator for the Interagency Supply Chain Group (ISG)       Hitesh Hurkchand
Interagency Supply Chain Group
Hosted by the World Health Organization 
Mobile: +1.917.975.9743 [WhatsApp, Viber]
Skype: hitesh_h
New York, New York