Between August and September 2024, eHealth Africa’s Disease Prevention and Monitoring team conducted a comprehensive pilot workshop for its innovative digital solution, Planfeld. The tool is designed to enhance the planning of vaccination campaigns and ensure that every child has access to the polio vaccine and other routine immunization services. During the workshop, held in Kaduna, Niger, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, and Kebbi States, eHealth Africa exposed over 350 primary healthcare workers, partners, and stakeholders to the efficacy of Planfeld in planning vaccination campaigns with greater speed and accuracy.
The impactful workshop, funded by the Gates Foundation, provided stakeholders with the opportunity to give insightful feedback during the tool’s demonstration. Here are some key lessons learned:
1. Time Management: Reducing Vaccination Plan Development from 5 Days to 10 Minutes
In all six states where Planfeld was piloted, Ward Focal Persons managing vaccination campaigns reported that developing a micro plan typically took between three to five days. This process involved manually collecting data from communities and engaging with local gatekeepers to identify target households and populations (children aged 0-59 months). However, with Planfeld, an updated Master List of Settlements, and input from primary healthcare providers, a near-accurate micro plan could be generated in just five minutes. Umar Muhammed, a Ward Focal Person in Niger State, noted, “If Planfeld works perfectly, it will solve all our challenges, as it can generate micro plans within a few minutes.”
Similarly, Victor Obagunlu from Solina, who attended the workshop in Kaduna State, said, “Planfeld is beneficial because it significantly reduces the time and energy spent on developing micro plans.”
2. Effective Resource Management and Allocation for Vaccination Campaigns
The workshop highlighted that with an accurate Master List of Settlements (MLoS) uploaded into Planfeld, the right number of vaccination teams can be effectively assigned to households. According to Friday Daniel, eHealth Africa’s Associate Manager supporting this intervention, “Accurately assigning vaccination teams to the right number of settlements will reduce undue burden and ensure every household is reached within the vaccination period.” Like many digital innovations, Planfeld relies on data for better decision-making, ensuring both financial and human resources are effectively utilized.
3. State Primary Healthcare Leaders Are Open to New Innovations
Dr. Larai Aliyu Tambuwal, Executive Secretary of the Sokoto State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), summarized the views of other agency leaders by stating, “The integration of digital innovation in primary healthcare services will significantly improve precision in delivering vaccines to every settlement, ensuring comprehensive coverage.”
Key stakeholders at the state level were generally receptive to digitizing the microplanning process to enhance its quality. Mustapha Aliyu Alinkilo, Director of Disease Prevention and Control in Zamfara State, commented, “Technology will enhance the quality of microplanning in the state, and deploying the monitoring aspect of Planfeld will ensure a near-perfect vaccination campaign.”
4. User-Centric Approach Is Key to Success of Digital Innovations
To ensure an effective transition from manual to digital microplanning, eHealth Africa’s Program Manager Abubakar Shehu emphasized the importance of involving all relevant parties during the planning phase. “We brought in key players in the generation of micro plans at the state level, led by the Incident Manager and the State Immunization Officer for both Polio and routine immunization,” Abubakar said. Key partners, including the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), and SOLINA, participated in the pilot workshop.
A crucial lesson learned from the Planfeld demonstrations is that understanding and prioritizing the needs, preferences, and behaviors of users is essential when developing digital innovations. Feedback from over 350 prospective end-users has highlighted areas for optimization to ensure that the Planfeld application resonates with its target audience.
5. Opportunity for Optimization of Planfeld
As with any digital solution, Planfeld has room for optimization. After the workshop in Niger State, the State Immunization Officer (SIO) Usman Abubakar Kpantu suggested that Planfeld be optimized to include the allocation of accurate resources and commodities, especially vaccines, to various settlements. Abubakar recommended, “Micro plan structures should accommodate advocacy, communication, and social mobilization tools to promote ownership of vaccination campaigns across communities.”
Other stakeholders advised that Planfeld should identify the exact number of households and children a vaccination team should expect to cover during daily activities. This, they believe, will further enhance planning accuracy and ensure that no child is left unvaccinated.
Overall, as agreed by all stakeholders during the Planfeld pilot workshop across the six states, an accurate Master List of Settlements is crucial for developing effective micro plans. An accurate micro plan remains vital for reaching every household and target population with the appropriate vaccines. Therefore, primary healthcare providers and community gatekeepers play essential roles in collecting and disseminating accurate information. This will help ensure that technical partners like eHealth Africa use the right information to support vaccination campaigns, as efforts continue to eliminate the Circulating Variant Poliovirus and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
