Making Sense of Post New Vaccines Introduction Evaluations

A post-introduction evaluation (PIE) is the overall assessment of the impact of the introduction of a new vaccine(s) on a country's national immunization programme. It rapidly identifies problem areas needing correction within the immunization programme either pre-existing or resulting from the introduction of a new vaccine, and provides valuable lessons for future vaccine introductions. The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a comprehensive manual and a tool to guide country teams to conduct PIE effectively. I have been involved in four PIE activities and have come up with these suggestions, that to achieve the objectives of PIE there is the need for (i) post PIE follow-ups, (ii) review and simplification of the PIE tool and (iii) a look at the number of PIEs one country can conduct irrespective of how many times a new vaccine is introduced in the country. This script is not intended to undermine the authenticity and modalities of the PIE structure but to enhance the achievements of the purpose and objectives of it.