Strengthen national immunization systems, introduce fit-for-purpose digital solutions and leverage local expertise for equitable COVID-19 vaccine delivery
The DHIS2 toolkit for COVID-19 vaccine delivery expands field-tested designs and tools from the WHO DHIS2 immunization data toolkit to enable countries to rapidly update existing systems to support the equitable delivery of lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines at scale. Our focus is on integrating digital solutions for COVID-19 vaccine delivery into national DHIS2-based immunization systems and strengthening these systems for sustainable impact across all aspects of vaccine preventable disease interventions.
DHIS2 is well-established as a health information management system for both immunization programs and COVID-19 response: More than 45 countries already use DHIS2 as the information backbone of their national immunization programs, including 30 that have installed modules from the WHO DHIS2 Immunization Toolkit, and 36 countries rapidly deployed DHIS2 for COVID-19 surveillance. Several countries have already deployed DHIS2 for COVID-19 vaccine delivery, including Sri Lanka, Laos, Rwanda and Mozambique.
Using DHIS2 for COVID-19 vaccine delivery allows countries to build upon existing software, incorporate global data standards, introduce fit-for-purpose solutions and leverage local and regional expertise for national roll-out. Watch our webinar to learn more (view slides):
The DHIS2 toolkit is intended to help countries operationalize the WHO Guidance on National Deployment and Vaccination Planning with a range of field-validated digital solutions that can be deployed in a modular way depending on local context.
| WHO Guidance for COVID-19 Delivery | DHIS2 Tools |
|---|---|
| Measure uptake, coverage & equitable distribution over time, by geography and across risk groups | WHO EPI module expanded for COVID-19 vaccine data for routine facility data on vaccination utilization, wastage, cold chain & outreach data |
| Supply chain readiness & traceability of vaccines down to points of service delivery | Facility & last-mile logistics data module: WHO approved health logistics metadata with barcode/QR scanning capabilities |
| Ensure that individuals can be monitored for the full course of multi-dose regimen | Immunization eRegistry for longitudinal tracking & follow up of individuals |
| Provide a personal vaccination record/certificate | Electronic Health Certificates linked with Immunization eRegistry and integration with digital vaccination cards |
| Multiple distribution strategies; novel & innovative distribution approaches | Mass campaigns & supplemental immunization activities monitoring adapted for COVID-19 distribution strategies |
| Vaccine safety monitoring | Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) Tracker: WHO approved module for strengthening vaccine safety surveillance |
In addition to the COVID vaccine delivery toolkit elements listed above, all DHIS2 implementations take advantage of several key features of the core software platform.
All digital solutions can be deployed for offline data collection through the DHIS2 Android Capture App. Natively integrated with DHIS2, the app is already deployed in 33+ countries. Supports frontline worker task planning and features like barcode/QR scanning.
Supporting data analysis and use at all levels of the health system through built-in analytics tools and data exchange support. Integrated data systems enable seamless analysis across logistics, service delivery and surveillance interventions. Configurable privacy and security settings.
Robust interoperability support through a well-documented API and adherence to relevant standards, enabling interoperability with most major software vendors (OpenSRP, CommCare, ODK and OpenMRS, etc.), with several existing integrations already deployed with the support of HISP groups.
Flexible denominator support through disaggregation across geographic levels and risk groups makes it easy to add population data estimates.
In many countries, DHIS2 serves as the de facto MFL. Any software integration will benefit from the established health geographic structure.
You can find links to downloadable and installable .json files for each of the metadata packages in the COVID-19 Vaccine Delivery Toolkit on our WHO Package Downloads page.
The following online resources are also available:
The Server Configuration Guide and Server Webinar provide new automated tools for setting up a clean installation of DHIS2. This is our recommended approach when using the DHIS2 COVID-19 Tracker packages.
The COVID-19 Training Material provides generic training and learning guides that can be customized to your DHIS2 implementation.
The Tracker Implementation Guide provides general guidance on planning a DHIS2 Tracker instance. For large-scale systems, supplementary documentation and a webinar provide guidance for performance optimization.
Review our Budgeting Guidance document and Excel Budgeting Tool for help creating a realistic budget for deploying the DHIS2 Toolkit at national scale.
The DHIS2 team recorded several webinars on the COVID Vaccine Delivery Toolkit to demonstrate and explain key features and capabilities. Frequently Asked Questions were answered in a live discussion thread.
The COVID-19 Discussion Forum on the DHIS2 Community of Practice is a forum where you can ask questions, get support for your implementation, and review issues that have been raised and resolved by other community members.
To request professional support for implementing the DHIS2 COVID-19 Vaccine Delivery Toolkit, contact your regional group from the HISP Network.
