Technical Assistance NPHCDA Nigeria

Challenge

Gavi is funding the Johns Hopkins International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) to provide Targeted Country Assistance (TCA) to the Nigerian National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) to improve demand generation for childhood vaccination amongst caregivers, and support capacity building of immunization providers and managers at the health facility level. Working as a team, IVAC is implementing the project through her in-country management consultants, Direct Consulting and Logistics (DCL) Nigeria.

Approach

“Under the demand workstream, we assessed the socio-behavioural drivers of childhood vaccine demand and uptake in Nigeria using 79 key informant interviews (KIIs) and In-depth interviews (IDIs) with managers, providers and parents to understand the determinants, risk factors, and correlates of zero-dose children and communities. We also implemented 12 FGDs/HCD co-creation sessions with LGA program managers, health workers, community leaders and parents of zero dose children, to co-create practical solutions to improve the delivery and uptake of immunization services in six states in Nigeria – namely: Abia, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Kano, Kogi, and Oyo states, representing the six geopolitical zones of the country.

Working with the respective state immunization programs, our team supported with the development of communication plans utilizing findings from the KIIs and the solutions co-created with program personnel and community members during the HCD sessions. The communication plan targets the identified drivers and barriers. In the analysis, findings were clustered around the WHO BeSD framework themes, specifically: what people think and feel, social processes that affect vaccination intentions, individual motivations to vaccinate, practical issues that constitute obstacles to service access and utilization and the nature of immunization service experience.

Second, a CSO mapping exercise was conducted and shared with the EPI program to facilitate their identification of CSOs and inclusion or engagement of CSOs in the government’s efforts to address zero dose inequities. An online mapping survey collected information on the CSOs’ organizational arrangements, their focus of work, their sources of funding and their readiness to support zero dose reduction interventions.

Teeing off from the Gavi CSO engagement framework, IVAC worked with in-country CSOs to facilitate the review and adaptation of the framework principles for CSO work on immunization in Nigeria

Under the HRH stream, IVAC produced three short videos on adaptive management for use in training frontline health workers and managers on how to conduct – after-action reviews (AAR), lesson learned, and data review meetings. The link to the videos are here.