Monitoring the SDG immunization indicator: Approaches and challenges.

Area of Science:

• Global Health
• Vaccinology
• Public Health Surveillance

Background:

• The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) immunization indicator aims to track comprehensive vaccine coverage.
• Measuring co-coverage of multiple childhood vaccines (diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis, pneumococcal, measles) is crucial for assessing progress.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of using national survey data to measure SDG immunization co-coverage.
• To evaluate co-coverage of essential childhood vaccines (DPT3, PCV3, MCV2) and associated inequalities.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of publicly available national survey data (since 2015) for immunization coverage.
• Calculation of a summary co-coverage indicator for DPT3, PCV3, and MCV2 by 36 months of age.
• Examination of socioeconomic and urban-rural inequalities in co-coverage.

Main Results:

• Only 33 out of 88 national surveys were suitable for calculating co-coverage.
• Co-coverage varied substantially, from 6.1% in Ethiopia to 90.2% in Rwanda.
• Median co-coverage (60.2%) was lower than average coverage for individual vaccines, and inequalities were wider.

Conclusions:

• National surveys can measure childhood vaccine co-coverage, but data limitations exist, particularly for adolescent vaccines like HPV.
• Significant socioeconomic and geographic inequalities in co-coverage necessitate targeted interventions.
• Improved frequency and comprehensiveness of national surveys are critical for life-course immunization monitoring, though administrative data may remain essential.