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November 2009 - Following the recommendations of the SIVAC External Technical Advisory Panel (ETAP) to include only persons working outside of WHO (as WHO is a part of the project partnership), Dr Manju Rani (WHO, WPRO) and Dr Pem Namgyal (WHO) accepted to resign and new experts accepted to become members:
• Dr Anita Zaidi, Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health from the Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan
•Dr Julitasari Sundoro, from the Indonesian GAVI secretariat at the Directorate General DC & EH, Department of Health, Jakarta, Indonesia
• Dr Noni E. MacDonald, Professor of Paediatrics and of Computer Science at the Dalhousie University, Division Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Halifax, Canada.
Additional experts will be included soon to represent all the regions included in the Initiative.
November 2009 - Julia Blau joined the SIVAC Team in Paris, France as a Program Officer. She is specialized (MSc) in health policy and health economics from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the London School of Economics. She worked previously at the WHO Regional Office Euro and the World Bank in Washington DC, USA. She will participate in the technical activities of the SIVAC Initiative on a part-time basis.
Lara Gautier also joined the SIVAC Team in Paris, France as an intern. Lara is a student from the Paris University (Paris-Dauphine) training for a Master of Heath Economics and Health Management. |
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November 2009 - The SIVAC team is finalizing with several countries a journal supplement to be published in Vaccine on "The role of National Advisory Committees in supporting evidence-based decision making for National Immunisation Programs". This supplement will give practical examples (composition, functioning, recent examples) of existing NITAGs from various countries and will also include WHO guidelines. |
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November 2009 - SIVAC is currently conducting, with all WHO Regional Offices, a questionnaire based survey. This survey aims at identifying the current and future needs of NITAGs for material, training and tools. Results will be available in January 2010 and will be completed during a workshop gathering NITAGs and future NITAGs’ members and international partners. Meeting attendees will summarize needs and define and establish a partnership for the future NITAGs Technical Resource and Training Center (NITAGs/NCIPs Techtrain Center). |
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November 2009 - Based on the "Concept paper on the Establishment of the NITAG", the Health Authorities of the Republique de Cote d'Ivoire finalized the legal document establishing the "Comité National d'Experts Indépendants pour la Vaccination et les Vaccins de la Côte d'Ivoire (CNEIV)" and also the list of future members. The legal documents (arrêtés) have been transmitted to the Honorable Minister of Health for final signature. Depending on the national political calendar, the first meeting of the CNEIV should be convened no later than January 2010. Cote d'Ivoire would then be the second country having a NITAG in the Sub-Saharan Africa.
November 2009 - The National Authorities of Kenya are in the process of submitting to internal (MoH) and external experts, the first draft of the "Concept paper on the Establishment of the NITAG for Kenya" for discussion. The discussion will be conducted through workshops of partners to reach a national consensus regarding functioning and composition of the future "Kenya Independent Immunization Technical Advisory Group" (KITAG).
November 2009 - SIVAC visited Kyrgyzstan to discuss with National Authorities the development of a "Concept paper on the Establishment of the NITAG". During the mission, the SIVAC team described the recommendations of the WHO guidelines on the functioning and composition of a NITAG and also gave examples of other existing Committees. National authorities convened a small working group to develop a first draft of the concept paper and will then share it with national experts for discussion.
November 2009 - SIVAC is finalizing the final report summarizing the results of a survey aimed at evaluating the feasibility and usefulness of establishing an Inter-Country Immunization Technical Advisory Group for West African countries. The report will be shared with Sponsors (WHO and B&MGF) and with the Members of the SIVAC ETAP for discussion and action.
November 2009 - During the GAVI Board meeting in Hanoi, 16-17 November and based on the SIVAC Country selection process, the SIVAC team initiated the discussion with Vietnam and Indonesia regarding the feasibility of supporting the existing immunization committees to strengthen their evidence-based decision-making process for establishing immunization policies. The discussion will continue both internally and with National Authorities during future country visits. |
