EHAI’s Digital Data System is Making Vaccines Accessible to Children Across Kwara’s Communities

A group of health workers attends to a caregiver and her baby at Alalubosa PHC using the smart tablet provided by EHAI.

Grace, 35, is a resident of the Dangiwa Oke-Ose area in Ilorin, Kwara State. She volunteers with the Equitable Health Access Initiative (EHAI), where she tracks immunisation defaulters using data from the newly introduced Automated Digitised Immunisation System (ADIS).

“Before, no one would call them but with the help of EHAI, they have empowered us to call them, monitor them, visit them and enlighten them on the importance of immunisation,” the volunteer explains. “I want them [the caregivers] to know that immunisation is essential to all children because it helps to protect them against diseases.”

Nigeria faces a critical challenge: at least 2.3 million children are unvaccinated annually, and the country accounts for the highest number of zero-dose children in the world. Despite vaccines being the most effective way to protect children, build herd immunity, and prevent outbreaks, Nigeria’s vaccine coverage rates in children have historically been suboptimal and well below the 90% target rate.

According to Dr Timothy Akinmurele, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of EHAI, ADIS is designed to significantly reduce under-5 mortality and improve health outcomes by increasing immunisation coverage and reducing zero-dose and under-immunised children across the country.

“ADIS plays a vital role in achieving these national health priorities,” he noted.

Increasing immunisation coverage

Grace observed that introducing the ADIS system has effectively reduced the incidence of patients skipping vaccines. According to EHAI, tracking missed immunisation doses was inconsistent before the introduction of ADIS, but since its implementation, they have observed a clear downward trend. In October 2024, it recorded 604 cases of missed vaccinations, this decreased to 530 cases in November and 482 cases in December 2024.

A group of health workers attends to a caregiver and her baby at Alalubosa PHC using the smart tablet provided by EHAI.

The ADIS offers real-time data access, automated Short Message Service (SMS) reminders, and defaulter tracking to ensure no child is left out of their Routine Immunisation. The innovation is made possible through a collaboration with EHAI and the Kwara State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (KWSPHCDA) with funds from the Pfizer Foundation’s Global Health Innovative Grant (GHIG) 8 Programme, which seeks to overcome barriers that contribute to under-immunisation.

Benefits of going digital
Akinmurele, the CEO, highlights that EHAI is piloting ADIS across 12 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) and the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital in Ilorin East Local Government Area.

Within the first four months of 2024, they digitised and automated the paper-based immunisation registers and child health cards into an Electronic Immunisation Register (EIR). They also trained 65 healthcare workers, 12 data associates from the PHCs, and 24 community volunteers on the effective use of the EIR and its automated features.

All historical immunisation records from the paper immunisation registers have been securely migrated into a comprehensive database, which now captures the accurate data of over 15,000 children.

The CEO emphasises that healthcare workers receive automated line lists of children due for vaccination via email 24 to 48 hours before appointments, and then caregivers are notified of upcoming vaccination appointments through SMS reminders.

Community volunteers also receive defaulter lists through email, enabling timely follow-up and improving vaccination rates. Additionally, caregivers and community members receive Social and Behavioural Change Communication (SBCC) messages, promoting the importance of vaccines to drive immunisation uptake.

Akinmurele stressed the importance of empirical evaluation to gauge the effectiveness of the intervention. To this end, a baseline survey was conducted at the project’s onset, with plans for an end-line survey to assess its impact. Based on the preliminary findings, the introduction of ADIS has yielded promising results, with fewer cases of missed vaccinations and reduced waiting times for patients.

 

Article written by Mahdi Garba for Nigeria Health Watch

Full story – https://articles.nigeriahealthwatch.com/a-digital-data-system-is-making-vaccines-accessible-to-children-across-kwaras-communities/

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