New Journal Article Links RED-QI Approach to Improvements in the Coverage of Pentavalent Vaccination in Ethiopia

Quality improvement strategies for routine immunization implemented in three districts in Ethiopia improved coverage, according to surveys implemented between 2013 and 2016. JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI) and the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine conducted linked vaccination coverage and seroprotection surveys before and after implementation of the Reaching Every District using Quality Improvement (RED-QI) strategy in Ethiopia to strengthen the routine immunization system. The results of the surveys are discussed in an article, “Linked vaccination coverage surveys plus serosurveys among Ethiopian toddlers undertaken three years apart to compare coverage and serologic evidence of protection in districts implementing the RED-QI approach,” recently published by the Vaccine Journal.

Despite nationwide improvements in immunization coverage, access and utilization of routine immunization (RI) services at the sub-national level in Ethiopia is markedly inequitable, with a significant number of unreached and unimmunized children. The survey results demonstrate that after implementing the RED-QI approach that there were improvements in the coverage of pentavalent vaccination, vaccination timeliness, and there was a reduction in missed opportunities to vaccinate. These findings indicate that wider implementation of RED-QI can strengthen immunization and protect more children from vaccine-preventable disease.

“Linked vaccination coverage surveys plus serosurveys among Ethiopian toddlers undertaken three years apart to compare coverage and serologic evidence of protection in districts implementing the RED-QI approach,” by J.D. Campbell, M.F. Pasetti, L. Oot. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.08.0710264-410X 2021 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The article can be found at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X21011191

and is published in Vaccine Vol. 39, issue 40, pp. 5802-5813

Copies of this paper are available to credentialed journalists upon request; please contact Elsevier’s Newsroom at newsroom@elsevier.com  or +31 20 485 2719

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