Afrigather Addis Ababa: The World Well being Group (WHO) Ethiopia’s Nation Workplace hosted the Inter nation, capability constructing workshop for the Nationwide Immunization Technical Advisory Teams (NITAGs) of the host Ethiopia, Lesotho, Namibia, Mauritius, Seychelles, and Somalia from the WHO EMRO Area. The NITAG’s capability constructing workshop was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 11 to fifteen December 2023.
The general goal of the workshop was to strengthen NITAGs members and secretariats of taking part nations on the proof to suggestion course of in immunization and on the NITAG operations. The particular aims had been to strengthen NITAG members’ capacities on roles and duties of stakeholders and mode of operations of an environment friendly NITAG, to orient on NITAG maturity device use and share expertise throughout the area for peer-to-peer studying, to develop evidence-based suggestion utilizing commonplace steering and instruments and to share expertise amongst NITAGs on operations and proof to suggestion course of.
The Nationwide Immunization Technical Advisory Teams (NITAGs) are our bodies composed of unbiased nationwide consultants tasked with advising nationwide well being authorities and nationwide immunization programmes on immunization insurance policies and techniques. These advisory our bodies present country-specific suggestions to political authorities, ministries of well being and immunization programmes, primarily based on proof accessible on the nationwide, regional, and worldwide ranges. NITAGs can be leveraged as an advocacy device for knowledgeable stakeholder engagement in commonplace Immunization coverage design and immunization methods, in addition to for companions supporting these methods in nations.
“These advisory our bodies have been contributing to the nationwide decision-making on immunization by adapting the WHO world and regional steering’s to the native context, thereby intensifying the credibility and sustainability of the immunization coverage and its acceptance by the inhabitants.” Mentioned Dr. Nonhlanhla Dlamini, WHO Ethiopia consultant a.i.
As of finish June 2023, the member states from 42 nations within the WHO area have established a NITAG. Nevertheless, the 2022 WHO-UNICEF Estimates of Nationwide Immunization Protection (WUENIC) reported that 31 members states have a purposeful NITAG (as at finish 2022).
This capability strengthening is subsequently meant to strengthen their capability for enhancing the nations immunization programme and evidence-based choice making. This intercountry capability constructing workshop would profit the NITAGs members by means of provision of normal modular coaching along with peer-to-peer studying.
Ethiopia’s NITAG has been established in 2016 with 12 members and one chairperson and so they have been contributing to the nation immunization choice making by offering coverage steering resembling introduction of latest vaccines, together with HPV, COVID-19, the Hep B beginning dose, and so on. into the nation immunization program.
A complete of 69 delegates from 6 nations attended the workshop which incorporates NITAG members, technical secretariat and core members, technical workers from WHO Head Quarter, the Africa regional Workplace (AFRO), inter nation help workforce of the Jap and Southern Africa (IST/ESA) area, focused nation workplaces and companions, in addition to NITAG consultants from Job Power for International well being, Facilities for Illnesses Management, and NITAG Assist Hub (NISH)/College of Cape City.
The goal nations had been chosen primarily based on the advance plans guided by the NITAG evaluation carried out in 2023, a latest renewal of memberships and a newly established member, the recognized non-functional group resulting from capability constructing points and availability of functioning instruments.
The workshop has given a chance for newly deployed NITAG members, to construct their capability on proof assortment, synthesis, and evaluation throughout choice making and suggestion.
Furthermore, nation’s experiences had been shared on NITAG operations and EtR amongst participant nations by means of peer-learning and participant nation NITAGs up to date their Implementation handbook procedures, superior their particular coverage questions for EtR so as their workplans to information the deliberate actions and recognized the Technical Advisor (TA) wants for every nation NITAG. Additional, members have benefited from taking part the educational strategy of creating six totally different coverage questions that they had been creating through the workshop every utilizing their particular coverage questions.
Important outputs:
- NITAG inner handbook of procedures up to date (Ethiopia, Mauritius, Namibia, Lesotho) and drafted (Somalia, Seychelles).
- Proof to suggestion course of initiated for illness particular matter, subsequently the proof tables have been drafted for HPV single dose (Lesotho, Seychelles), Malaria vaccines (Ethiopia), PCV (Somalia), MMR (Namibia), MMRV (Mauritius)
Technical Contact:
Dr. Sidy NDIAYE, ndiayes [at] who.int
Dr. Messeret Shibeshi, eshetum [at] who.int
