A systematic review of vaccine availability at the national, district, and health facility level in the WHO African Region.

Chinwe Juliana Iwu, Ntombehle Ngcobo, Anelisa Jaca, Alison Wiyeh, Elizabeth Pienaar, Usuf Chikte, Charles S Wiysonge

Expert review of vaccines 2020 Jul

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To describe vaccine stock-outs at national, district, and health facility levels in the WHO African region. We conducted a systematic review to identify studies reporting on vaccine stock-outs at national, district, and health facility levels in 47 African countries. We searched both published and unpublished literature, including the WHO/UNICEF Joint Reporting Form (JRF), for eligible studies. Countries within the WHO African region continue to face the challenge of vaccine stock-outs at national, district, and health facility levels and this impacts on the delivery of immunization services. The frequency and the proportion of stock-outs vary between countries and between regions within a country. Countries need to put more efforts toward finding lasting solutions to vaccine shortages. We look forward to having more countries reporting vaccine stock-outs especially at the health facility level. Furthermore, countries are currently exploring different approaches for improving vaccine stock management. It is expected that in half a decade from now, more well-designed studies will be available that will inform decision-making.

Citation

Chinwe Juliana Iwu, Ntombehle Ngcobo, Anelisa Jaca, Alison Wiyeh, Elizabeth Pienaar, Usuf Chikte, Charles S Wiysonge. A systematic review of vaccine availability at the national, district, and health facility level in the WHO African Region. Expert review of vaccines. 2020 Jul;19(7):639-651