Category: Products
Health Workers Meet the BID Initiative
Aug 14, 2015
The BID Initiative is rolling out interventions to 253 health facilities in the Arusha region over the course of this year and into early 2016. We have successfully completed the first facility visits in the Arusha City Council district and are now beginning in Meru district. We often get questions on what goes into our site visits and how we practically begin rolling out a comprehensive initiative of this scale.
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BID Rolls Out in Arusha
Jul 22, 2015
At the end of last month, the BID Initiative officially launched interventions in Arusha, our pilot region in Tanzania! We began with a handful of facilities to user test the new national electronic immunization system and incorporated feedback before expanding to additional facilities. This is a culmination of major efforts in establishing partnerships, identifying the most pressing immunization data-related challenges and fine-tuning interventions to solve them.
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Innovations in Vaccines and Data to Transform Health by 2030
Jul 16, 2015
Innovation Countdown 2030 is reimagining what’s possible in global health. Led by PATH, the initiative is identifying and showcasing technologies and interventions with great promise to accelerate progress toward solving the world’s most urgent health issues.
Read MoreRFP for Electronic Immunization Registry Development in Zambia
Jul 14, 2015
We are pleased to announce the release of the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Better Immunization Data (BID) Electronic Immunization Registry Development in Zambia.
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Intervention Spotlight: Electronic Immunization Registry
Jul 1, 2015
A key intervention for the BID Initiative is the national electronic immunization registry that will ensure all children are registered from birth and do not miss a potentially life-saving vaccine.
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Learning from Others to Design Solutions in Zambia
Jun 25, 2015
Namaila Health Centre is a rural facility in Zambia located 80 kilometers from Mazabuka, the nearest town. There is no electricity nor internet connection. We recently traveled the rough terrain to visit this facility and were shocked at how long it took us– over two hours. The purpose of the visit was to learn how community health workers (CHWs) are collecting information using mobile phones under the Rapid Reporting Initiative led by PATH’s Malaria Control and Elimination Partnership in Africa (MACEPA).
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Meet Lucy: A Health Worker’s Job Before and After the BID Initiative
Jun 3, 2015
Meet Lucy. Lucy is a head nurse in a busy, urban facility in Arusha, Tanzania. Like many health workers in Sub-Saharan Africa, Lucy and her colleagues must sift through dense immunization registries to identify kids who need to be immunized. But her job doesn’t stop there. Lucy must also make sure she has enough stock on hand to deliver vaccines and prepare a monthly report for the district.
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Creativity: The Key to Developing Tanzania’s Electronic Immunization System
May 27, 2015
Creativity doesn’t always come to mind when one thinks about software design and development. Creativity is typically reserved for the arts. Innovation on the other hand is often used to describe new software. But I have always found creativity to be an essential part of the custom software development process, particularly when deployed in low-resource environments. Working with PATH on the BID Initiative’s development and launch of an immunization registry in Tanzania is a good example.
Read MoreOpportunities for Home-Based Immunization Records
Apr 9, 2015
The BID Initiative is on the brink of implementing a national electronic immunization system in Tanzania while countries yet to implement such a system often turn to home-based records for immunization programs. With scarce public health resources and the need for accurate data on immunization coverage, home-based records can be an effective way to track if children are receiving the vaccines they need. However, is there a need for a more durable, coordinated system for home-based records?
Read MoreResources: Information Systems for EPI
Mar 2, 2015
I am honored and excited to present at the Inaugural Conference of the International Association of Immunization Managers (IAIM) on March 3-4, 2015, in Istanbul, Turkey. A program of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, this two day conference brings together over 300 participants and offers immunization manager members the opportunity to meet their peers in other countries, exchange information and best practices in immunization program management, and learn more about the professional support that IAIM offers them to help advance their management and leadership skills.
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