Multilateral collaboration between Italy-Lombardy and Sierra Leone: an effective collaboration to boost Covid-19 vaccine coverage in the country.
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1
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, United States
2
Agenzia di Tutela della Salute (ATS) Bergamo, University of Geneva, Italy
Publication date: 2023-04-27
Popul. Med. 2023;5(Supplement):A974
ABSTRACT
Materials and methods: The Sierra Vax team of AREU Lombardy (Regional Emergency Agency) carried out five missions in Sierra Leone: 1. Planning and starting vaccination activities, creating a series of collaborations, 2. training and motivating 31 vaccination groups for a total of 134 people. AREU modeled the project on a "settings approach" model and "Results-based" payment Methods. To improve the follow-up process, we implemented a system of rapid daily reporting of just the number of doses administered and the names of the teams to follow the process. An AREU logistician cross-checked the data reported with paper registers of the local facilities, ensuring the accuracy of the reported data. Results: Considering the Results of the first three months (about 7000 vaccinations per week) and the limited budget, we estimated that 100000 inoculations would be achievable by the end of May 2022. The project worked very well, reaching 153000 doses (53% more than the expected). Conclusions: The reporting system, combined with a system of monetary incentives via smartphone, multiplied the number of vaccinations per day for each team, going from 3 in the last weeks of December to 67 in May. The increase in vaccinations carried out by the 31 groups supervised in the presence of the AREU Sierra Vax team is a notable achievement, given the local context barriers and limitations.