Posted on December 8, 2012
Boosting the Immunization Workforce: Lessons From the Merck Vaccine Network-Africa
Boosting the Immunization Workforce: Lessons From the Merck Vaccine Network-Africa
In collaboration with ministries of health and education, nongovernmental organizations, medical and nursing schools, and multilateral organizations, significant improvements can be made in the quality and reach of vaccination programs in Africa by addressing the chronic under-capacity in the immunization workforce through a train-the-trainer model, a report from FSG and the
Merck Company Foundation finds. Boosting the Immunization Workforce: Lessons From the Merck Vaccine Network - Africa (29 pages, PDF) highlights the program design and outcomes of the Merck Vaccine Network-Africa (MVN-A), a ten-year, $4.8 million philanthropic initiative funded by the Merck Company Foundation and endorsed by the
GAVI Alliance that provided customized hands-on training designed to enhance immunization managers' knowledge and skills and raise coverage rates in Kenya, Mali, Uganda, and Zambia. Lessons learned from the initiative include the importance of creating a sustainability plan at the outset and embedding programs into local health systems, the need to conduct ongoing monitoring and evaluation, and the importance of using locally adapted curricula and teaching techniques.
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