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Mboussou F, Nkamedjie P, Oyaole D, Farham B, Atagbaza A, Nsasiirwe S, Costache A, Brooks D, Wiysonge CS, Impouma B. Rapid assessment of data systems for COVID-19 vaccination in the WHO African Region. Epidemiol Infect 2024; 152:e50. [PMID: 38497495 PMCID: PMC11022257 DOI: 10.1017/s0950268824000451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2023] [Revised: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Most countries in Africa deployed digital solutions to monitor progress in rolling out COVID-19 vaccines. A rapid assessment of existing data systems for COVID-19 vaccines in the African region was conducted between May and July 2022, in 23 countries. Data were collected through interviews with key informants, identified among senior staff within Ministries of Health, using a semi-structured electronic questionnaire. At vaccination sites, individual data were collected in paper-based registers in five countries (21.7%), in an electronic registry in two countries (8.7%), and in the remaining 16 countries (69.6%) using a combination of paper-based and electronic registries. Of the 18 countries using client-based digital registries, 11 (61%) deployed the District Health Information System 2 Tracker, and seven (39%), a locally developed platform. The mean percentage of individual data transcribed in the electronic registries was 61% ± 36% standard deviation. Unreliable Internet coverage (100% of countries), non-payment of data clerks' incentives (89%), and lack of electronic devices (89%) were the main reasons for the suboptimal functioning of digital systems quoted by key informants. It is critical for investments made and experience acquired in deploying electronic platforms for COVID-19 vaccines to be leveraged to strengthen routine immunization data management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franck Mboussou
- World Health Organization, Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo
| | | | - Daniel Oyaole
- World Health Organization, Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo
| | - Bridget Farham
- World Health Organization, Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo
| | - Ajiri Atagbaza
- World Health Organization, Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo
| | - Sheillah Nsasiirwe
- World Health Organization, Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo
| | | | - Donald Brooks
- World Health Organization, Department of Immunization, Vaccines & Biologicals, Geneva, Switzerland
| | | | - Benido Impouma
- World Health Organization, Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo
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Mboussou F, Farham B, Nsasiirwe S, Atagbaza A, Oyaole D, Atuhebwe PL, Alegana V, Osei-sarpong F, Bwaka A, Paluku G, Petu A, Efe-Aluta O, Kalu A, Bagayoko MM, Impouma B. COVID-19 Vaccination in the WHO African Region: Progress Made in 2022 and Factors Associated. Vaccines (Basel) 2023; 11:1010. [PMID: 37243114 PMCID: PMC10223522 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11051010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Revised: 03/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
This study summarizes progress made in rolling out COVID-19 vaccinations in the African region in 2022, and analyzes factors associated with vaccination coverage. Data on vaccine uptake reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa by Member States between January 2021 and December 2022, as well as publicly available health and socio-economic data, were used. A negative binomial regression was performed to analyze factors associated with vaccination coverage in 2022. As of the end of 2022, 308.1 million people had completed the primary vaccination series, representing 26.4% of the region's population, compared to 6.3% at the end of 2021. The percentage of health workers with complete primary series was 40.9%. Having carried out at least one high volume mass vaccination campaign in 2022 was associated with high vaccination coverage (β = 0.91, p < 0.0001), while higher WHO funding spent per person vaccinated in 2022 was correlated with lower vaccination coverage (β = -0.26, p < 0.03). All countries should expand efforts to integrate COVID-19 vaccinations into routine immunization and primary health care, and increase investment in vaccine demand generation during the transition period that follows the acute phase of the pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franck Mboussou
- World Health Organization, Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville P.O. Box 06, Congo
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Akpan GU, Bello IM, Touray K, Ngofa R, Oyaole D, Maleghemi S, Babona Nshuti MA, Chikwanda CS, Poy A, Roland Mboussou FF, Ogundiran O, Impouma B, Mihigo R, Yao NKM, Ticha JM, Tuma J, Mohammed HFAH, Kanmodi K, Ejiofor NE, Manengu C, Kasolo F, Seaman V, Mkanda P. Leveraging Polio GIS platforms in the African Region for mitigating Covid-19 contact tracing and Surveillance challenges. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2021; 10:e22544. [PMID: 34854813 PMCID: PMC8972111 DOI: 10.2196/22544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Revised: 02/01/2021] [Accepted: 05/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Africa is an urgent public health crisis. Estimated models projected over 150,000 deaths and 4,600,000 hospitalizations in the first year of the disease in the absence of adequate interventions. Therefore, electronic contact tracing and surveillance have critical roles in decreasing COVID-19 transmission; yet, if not conducted properly, these methods can rapidly become a bottleneck for synchronized data collection, case detection, and case management. While the continent is currently reporting relatively low COVID-19 cases, digitized contact tracing mechanisms and surveillance reporting are necessary for standardizing real-time reporting of new chains of infection in order to quickly reverse growing trends and halt the pandemic. Objective This paper aims to describe a COVID-19 contact tracing smartphone app that includes health facility surveillance with a real-time visualization platform. The app was developed by the AFRO (African Regional Office) GIS (geographic information system) Center, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) emergency preparedness and response team. The app was developed through the expertise and experience gained from numerous digital apps that had been developed for polio surveillance and immunization via the WHO’s polio program in the African region. Methods We repurposed the GIS infrastructures of the polio program and the database structure that relies on mobile data collection that is built on the Open Data Kit. We harnessed the technology for visualization of real-time COVID-19 data using dynamic dashboards built on Power BI, ArcGIS Online, and Tableau. The contact tracing app was developed with the pragmatic considerations of COVID-19 peculiarities. The app underwent testing by field surveillance colleagues to meet the requirements of linking contacts to cases and monitoring chains of transmission. The health facility surveillance app was developed from the knowledge and assessment of models of surveillance at the health facility level for other diseases of public health importance. The Integrated Supportive Supervision app was added as an appendage to the pre-existing paper-based surveillance form. These two mobile apps collected information on cases and contact tracing, alongside alert information on COVID-19 reports at the health facility level; the information was linked to visualization platforms in order to enable actionable insights. Results The contact tracing app and platform were piloted between April and June 2020; they were then put to use in Zimbabwe, Benin, Cameroon, Uganda, Nigeria, and South Sudan, and their use has generated some palpable successes with respect to COVID-19 surveillance. However, the COVID-19 health facility–based surveillance app has been used more extensively, as it has been used in 27 countries in the region. Conclusions In light of the above information, this paper was written to give an overview of the app and visualization platform development, app and platform deployment, ease of replicability, and preliminary outcome evaluation of their use in the field. From a regional perspective, integration of contact tracing and surveillance data into one platform provides the AFRO with a more accurate method of monitoring countries’ efforts in their response to COVID-19, while guiding public health decisions and the assessment of risk of COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Godwin Ubong Akpan
- World Health Organization, Regional Office of Africa, World Health Organization,Regional Office for AfricaCite Du Djoue ,, Brazzaville, CG
| | | | - Kebba Touray
- World Health Organization, Regional Office of Africa, World Health Organization,Regional Office for AfricaCite Du Djoue ,, Brazzaville, CG
| | - Reuben Ngofa
- World Health Organization, Regional Office of Africa, World Health Organization,Regional Office for AfricaCite Du Djoue ,, Brazzaville, CG
| | | | | | - Marie Aimee Babona Nshuti
- World Health Organization, Regional Office of Africa, World Health Organization,Regional Office for AfricaCite Du Djoue ,, Brazzaville, CG
| | - Chanda Sangawambi Chikwanda
- World Health Organization, Regional Office of Africa, World Health Organization,Regional Office for AfricaCite Du Djoue ,, Brazzaville, CG
| | - Alain Poy
- World Health Organization, Regional Office of Africa, World Health Organization,Regional Office for AfricaCite Du Djoue ,, Brazzaville, CG
| | - Franck Fortune Roland Mboussou
- World Health Organization, Regional Office of Africa, World Health Organization,Regional Office for AfricaCite Du Djoue ,, Brazzaville, CG
| | - Opeayo Ogundiran
- World Health Organization, Regional Office of Africa, World Health Organization,Regional Office for AfricaCite Du Djoue ,, Brazzaville, CG
| | - Benido Impouma
- World Health Organization, Regional Office of Africa, World Health Organization,Regional Office for AfricaCite Du Djoue ,, Brazzaville, CG
| | - Richard Mihigo
- World Health Organization, Regional Office of Africa, World Health Organization,Regional Office for AfricaCite Du Djoue ,, Brazzaville, CG
| | - N'da Konan Michel Yao
- World Health Organization, Regional Office of Africa, World Health Organization,Regional Office for AfricaCite Du Djoue ,, Brazzaville, CG
| | - Johnson Muluh Ticha
- World Health Organization, Regional Office of Africa, World Health Organization,Regional Office for AfricaCite Du Djoue ,, Brazzaville, CG
| | - Jude Tuma
- World Health Organization, Geneva, CH
| | - Hani Farouk Abdel Hai Mohammed
- World Health Organization, Regional Office of Africa, World Health Organization,Regional Office for AfricaCite Du Djoue ,, Brazzaville, CG
| | | | - Nonso Ephraim Ejiofor
- World Health Organization, Regional Office of Africa, World Health Organization,Regional Office for AfricaCite Du Djoue ,, Brazzaville, CG
| | - Casimir Manengu
- World Health Organization, Regional Office of Africa, World Health Organization,Regional Office for AfricaCite Du Djoue ,, Brazzaville, CG
| | - Francis Kasolo
- World Health Organization, Regional Office of Africa, World Health Organization,Regional Office for AfricaCite Du Djoue ,, Brazzaville, CG
| | | | - Pascal Mkanda
- World Health Organization, Regional Office of Africa, World Health Organization,Regional Office for AfricaCite Du Djoue ,, Brazzaville, CG
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