Strengthening digital systems for immunization in Tanzania
As part of the GIZ-funded Digital Innovation in Pandemic Control (DIPC) project, Digital Square 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 resulted in the publication of country profile, which provides an overview of current digital systems that support immunization used in Tanzania.
As part of the ecosystem mapping exercise, end users of the digital systems (e.g., District and Regional Immunization and Vaccine Officers, or DIVOs/RIVOs) provided specific recommendations on features and interventions they would like to see added to the immunization registry, including 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.
Based on these inputs, the DIPC project in Tanzania aims to strengthen existing in-country digital immunization systems by working to:
Localize the immunization System User Requirements Document (SURD), based on the WHO SMART Guidelines Digital Adaptation Kit format, so that health care is administered according to the national clinical guidelines to increase 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.
DIPC Tanzania resources
Report: Immunization System User Requirements Document (SURD): Tanzania
Blog: Capacity strengthening to support women in data and digital health: Wahida’s story
Blog: Tanzania's path to pandemic preparedness: Strengthening immunization digital health systems
DIPC is a partnership between the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and Digital Square at PATH. The two-year project is working with ministries of health in Ghana, Malawi, and Tanzania to select and adapt digital tools to strengthen immunization systems.