Gavi and Philips team up to improve immunization data quality in developing countries

Images: courtesy of GAVI/Evelyn Hockstein

“By working with Philips we plan to protect more children by improving the quality of immunization data,” said Gavi CEO Dr. Seth Berkley. “Weak data leads to poor planning, often meaning that children, whether they live in urban slums or remote rural outposts, miss out on vaccines multiple times because health workers simply don’t know where to find them. I am pleased that Philips will bring its experience in connected healthcare informatics to help us tackle this problem.”

“We are convinced that partnerships, such as this one with Gavi, are paramount to realizing the goal of universal health coverage for all, especially among children,” said Jeroen Tas, CEO, Connected Care and Health Informatics at Philips. “Thanks to the digital revolution, we can now start doing what was previously unthinkable: enable access to care, improve patient outcomes and lower healthcare costs., Our vision for the partnership is that we will put our strengths in connected health, data analytics and population health management to further good use, by helping Gavi and the countries it supports to confidently identify and effectively immunize children, no matter where they live.”

Working in partnership with interested Ministries of Health, Gavi and Philips will bring together a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, researchers, designers and digital experts to collaborate on developing a shared vision and plan, tailored to local needs. Philips will leverage itsHealthSuite Labs methodology to co-design, prototype and apply new technologies to improve service outreach and enable accurate bottom-up forecasting of immunization needs. In addition, Philips and Gavi aim to develop data-driven feedback mechanisms to help improve decision making and identify the children that would benefit from vaccination.

The partnership announced today with Philips is another example of how Gavi aims to step up its data strengthening activities and further address some of the fundamental weaknesses in data collection systems in Gavi countries across the globe. It also supports Philips’ aim to improve the lives of three billion people a year by 2025 by making the world healthier and more sustainable through innovation, as well as the company’s commitment to the universally agreed United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, especially those aimed at ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages, and encouraging sustainable consumption and production patterns.