A program of the Summary of IAIM Regional Meeting for members of the Middle East, North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa (Sept 2014) Presented by Dr. Jaleela Jawad Vice President, IAIM ad hoc Governing Council IAIM Inaugural Conference, March 3 - 4, 2015, Istanbul, Turkey

Goals of the Regional Meeting For immunization managers across AFRO and EMRO to share experiences, knowledge, and solutions to advance their immunization programs For IAIM members to inform IAIM of how the association can support them best regarding:  Enhancing the management of their immunization programs to meet current demands and future challenges  Fostering visibility of immunization managers and their programs within Ministries of Health  Creating peer networks for exchanging knowledge and experiences and fostering innovation IAIM Inaugural Conference, March 3 - 4, 2015, Istanbul, Turkey2

Overview of Regional Meeting Components of Regional Meeting:  Introduction to IAIM and membership benefits  Presentations from members (immunization managers) on their own immunization program management experiences, successes, and challenges  Informational presentations on management  Networking sessions, during which members could discuss immunization program management issues and solutions in small groups  Breakout sessions for members of each region to discuss specific needs and challenges in their region IAIM Inaugural Conference, March 3 - 4, 2015, Istanbul, Turkey2

Attendance 47 members from the Middle East, North Africa, and sub- Saharan Africa were in attendance The following 20 countries were represented :  AFRO: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea- Bissau, Madagascar, Mali, South Africa.  EMRO: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates.  Other: United Kingdom, United States. IAIM Inaugural Conference, March 3 - 4, 2015, Istanbul, Turkey2

Some agenda highlights  Member presentation (Oman): The success story of EPI in Oman: Management decisions taken to achieve success  Panel discussion: What core competencies should immunization managers have?  Member presentation (Cote d’Ivoire): Supplementary Immunization Activities (SIA) quality improvement through data analysis and use IAIM Inaugural Conference, March 3 - 4, 2015, Istanbul, Turkey2

Some agenda highlights, continued  Networking session: How can IAIM help to raise the visibility of immunization managers within governments?  Breakout session: Identify the Components of Your Program that Represent Priority Management Concerns  Member presentation (Ghana): Managing a sentinel monitoring system for vaccine wastage IAIM Inaugural Conference, March 3 - 4, 2015, Istanbul, Turkey2

Key findings from regional breakout session: Top management obstacles encountered in each region AFRO  Strengthening data management  Strengthen cold chain management  Ensuring adequacy of human resources in immunization program EMRO  Adult vaccination and high-risk group vaccination  Data management (towards estimating disease burden, and conducting cost-effectiveness and impact studies)  Reaching hard-to-reach populations (including cross- border)  Turnover of highly trained EPI staff. IAIM Inaugural Conference, March 3 - 4, 2015, Istanbul, Turkey2

Discussion of key findings from breakout session, and solutions After the top obstacles in each region were identified, members spent time as a group discussing:  Why are these obstacles to advancing your immunization program? (Asking members to cite the specific difficulties they are encountering with respect to each issue)  What are potential solutions to these obstacles? The specific obstacles faced, and their proposed solutions, are summarized in the Regional Meeting report on the IAIM website IAIM Inaugural Conference, March 3 - 4, 2015, Istanbul, Turkey2

Key findings from first member networking session: How can IAIM help raise the visibility of immunization managers? Raise visibility of EPI (as a whole) within MOH IAIM can sensitize Ministers of Health to IAIM and in so doing, advocate for importance of immunization managers IAIM can advocate for the importance of vaccinations broadly, with clear messaging Sending representatives from IAIM to attend immunization/health meetings at country level, regional level, and/or international levels IAIM can help immunization managers with how to respond to groups hesitant to accept vaccinations IAIM Inaugural Conference, March 3 - 4, 2015, Istanbul, Turkey2

Other key findings Key findings from all other sessions can be found in the Regional Meeting report, which is on the IAIM website IAIM Inaugural Conference, March 3 - 4, 2015, Istanbul, Turkey2

Closing remarks The chairperson of the regional meeting (Dr. Jawad) reminded the audience of immunization managers that :  IAIM belongs to immunization managers- it is for them, and governed by them  IAIM represents a crucial platform to exchange information and help advance immunization programs worldwide. IAIM Inaugural Conference, March 3 - 4, 2015, Istanbul, Turkey2

Thank you! “Today and tomorrow, we are here to shape our future and leave our legacy to our children and the generations to come” -Johann van den Heever, IAIM ad hoc Governing Council member IAIM Inaugural Conference, March 3 - 4, 2015, Istanbul, Turkey2