Addressing Determinants of Immunization Inequities Requires Objective Tools to Devise Local Solutions.

Universal immunization substantially reduces morbidity and mortality from vaccine-preventable diseases. In recent years, routine immunization coverage has varied considerably among countries across the WHO European Region, and among different populations and districts within countries. It has even declined in some countries.

Indicators to assess National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs).

A National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG) is an expert advisory committee that provides evidence-based recommendations to the Ministry of Health (MoH) to guide immunization programs and policies. The World Health Organization (WHO), the Initiative for Supporting National Independent Immunization and Vaccine Advisory Committees (SIVAC) at Agence de Médecine Préventive (AMP) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC) engaged NITAG stakeholders and technical partners in the development of indicators to assess the effectiveness of NITAGs. A list of 17 process, output and outcome indicators was developed and tested in 14 countries to determine whether they were understandable, feasible to collect, and useful for the countries.

Monitoring of progress in the establishment and strengthening of national immunization technical advisory groups.

The majority of industrialized and some developing countries have established technical advisory bodies to guide and formulate national immunization policies and strategies. These are referred to as National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs), WHO and its partners have placed a high priority on assisting in the establishment or strengthening of functional, sustainable, and independent NITAGs. To enable systematic global monitoring of the existence and functionality of NITAGs, in 2010, WHO and UNICEF included related questions in the WHO-UNICEF Joint Reporting Form (JRF) that provides an official means for WHO and UNICEF to collect indicators of immunization programme performance.

A global look at national Immunization Technical Advisory Groups.

This paper presents the results of a global survey that aimed to collect information on country's immunization policy development processes, particularly on the presence and function of national Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (ITAGs). Characteristics of national ITAGs are described as well as attributes of these groups that appear to be imperative for an effective ITAG. ITAGs provide a valued service to over 89 countries that reported their establishment, some of which have been in existence for over 40 years.

Government financing for health and specific national budget lines: the case of vaccines and immunization.

A long standing question related to immunization financing and sustainability has been whether the existence of a specific line item for vaccines purchasing within the national health budget can contribute significantly to increasing national government financing of vaccines and routine immunizations. Based on immunization financing indicators from 185 countries collected through the joint WHO and UNICEF monitoring system, this paper attempts to answer this policy question. The study will present findings related to the status of countries that have such specific budget lines for purchasing vaccines and the levels of national budgetary allocation to the financing of vaccines and immunizations, particularly in low-income countries.