Digital Innovation in Pandemic Control
In an era of rising pandemic threats, strong immunization systems are only as effective as the digital tools that support them.
Countries face significant challenges when building digital immunization solutions, especially during pandemics. Fragmented systems prevent secure, interoperable data exchange, while limited resources make it difficult for local stakeholders to maintain and adapt these systems to meet evolving health needs.
The Digital Innovation in Pandemic Control (DIPC) project, a partnership between Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and Digital Square at PATH, is helping to bridge these gaps. Working with ministries of health in Ghana, Malawi, and Tanzania, the project supports the selection and customization of proven digital tools that are both nationally scalable and interoperable—laying the groundwork for more responsive and sustainable immunization systems.
Countries
Ghana
The Digital Square DIPC team partnered with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to better understand the landscape of tools currently used in Ghana's immunization health domain. This landscaping exercise resulted in the publication of a country profile that provides an overview of the current digital systems that support immunization in Ghana. The profile also outlines national priorities so that Ghana—led by the direction of GHS and its existing governance mechanisms and support from other key stakeholders—can use the findings to inform its journey to develop and operationalize interoperable digital systems that support immunization from end to end. These efforts will unify Ghana’s digital health ecosystem and strengthen vaccine planning and service delivery with the goal of increasing high-quality vaccination services.
DIPC activities in Ghana:
Enhance the DHIS2 e-Tracker so it can serve as Ghana's electronic immunization registry for COVID-19 and routine immunization.
Strengthen the capacity of health workers by updating content for the GHS eLearning platform so that system users can effectively build their knowledge of digital systems to support immunization.
Support interoperability of current digital immunization tools by providing detailed requirements for an interoperability layer (IOL) and evaluating potential software systems that best meet GHS needs.
Countries
Malawi
The Digital Square DIPC team partnered with the Malawi Ministry of Health's (MOH) Digital Health Division (DHD) and Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) to better understand the digital systems currently used to support immunization in Malawi. This landscaping exercise led to the development of a country profile outlining key digital systems currently in use.
Findings highlight that, although the MOH is experiencing rapid growth in the development and adoption of mobile and web-based digital tools, a number of the existing systems are not integrated and/or interoperable—leading to inefficiencies and a lack of accurate data.
DIPC activities in Malawi:
Localize the new Digital Adaptation Kit for Immunization (DAK) so that health care is administered according to clinical guidelines that improve quality of care. To achieve this, DIPC adapted a generic DAK into a localized DAK using the same principles and format as WHO’s standards-based, machine-readable, adaptive, requirements-based, and testable (SMART) Guidelines.
Develop an electronic immunization registry (EIR) as a module within the Malawi Healthcare Information System (MaHIS).
Strengthen the capacity of MOH partners to manage and adapt the EIR so it can be locally sustained.
Countries
Tanzania
The Digital Square DIPC team partnered with the Tanzania Ministry of Health (MOH) to better understand the landscape of systems currently used in Tanzania's immunization health domain. This landscaping exercise resulted in the publication of a country profile, which provides an overview of the current digital systems supporting immunization in Tanzania.
As part of the ecosystem mapping exercise, end users of the digital systems shared specific recommendations on features and interventions they would like to see added to the immunization registry, including the incorporation of COVID-19 and all forms of adult immunization. Tanzania has a clear vision for its national digital health strategy and how existing tools can be adapted, enhanced, and scaled up to support the functional components of immunization.
DIPC activities in Tanzania:
Localize the Digital Adaptation Kit for Immunization (DAK) for Tanzania, based on the WHO SMART Guidelines Digital Adaptation Kit format, so that health care is administered according to national clinical guidelines to improve quality of care.
Support the enhancement of the immunization module within the centralized Government of Tanzania Health Operations Management Information System (GOTHOMIS).
Provide capacity strengthening to developers from the MOH, local entrepreneurs, and other government agencies focused on Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) to support data exchange and interoperability.
Scaling the use of digital tools for vaccination planning, deployment, and monitoring. Learn more about the DIPC project.
Learn more about the DIPC project’s efforts to develop localized Digital Application Kits (DAKs) for each country in line with the WHO Digital Adaptation Kit for Immunization
Women in Digital Health Event: Empowering future female leaders (brief)
Digital Innovation in Pandemic Control: Ghana (brief)
Digital Adaptation Kit for Immunization (DAK): Ghana (report)
Health Data Ecosystem Mapping: Ghana (report)
Digital Innovation in Pandemic Control: Malawi (brief)
Digital Adaptation Kit for Immunization (DAK): Malawi (report)
Health Data Ecosystem Mapping: Malawi (report)
Digital Adaptation Kit for Immunization (DAK): Tanzania (report)
Health Data Ecosystem Mapping: Tanzania (report)