'Data play very important role in vaccination efforts'

 
Demographic data have been very important and effective in vaccination efforts, according to an online poll. Senior Research Fellow at Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Towfiqul Islam Khan presented the findings from the online poll which was conducted prior to a session titled 'Data-driven Vaccination Strategy for a Covid-19 Free World.'

The event was held at the United Nations World Data Forum (UNWDF) 2021 in Bern, Switzerland in association with Aspire to Innovate (a2i) Programme, ICT Division and Cabinet Division, Government of Bangladesh; Center for the Implementation of Public Policies Promoting Equity and Growth (CIPPEC), Argentina; Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh; Southern Voice; Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, USA and The City, USA on Tuesday. Data has played a critically important role, both nationally and globally, in achieving the shortest deployment period, said a CPD media release.

Dr Agnes Binagwaho, Vice Chancellor, University of Global Health Equity, Rwanda stated that Rwanda proceeded using the 'principle of implementation science' which was based on knowing the context, barriers, data and evidence-based interventions that have been proved by science and are adaptable for use. The data was collected at the national level and process was monitored by the Prime Minister.

The vaccine strategy in Bangladesh began with target group identification (gender, age, location etc) using the NID database and a database from Ministry of Finance, said Mr Anir Chowdhury, Policy Advisor, a2i, Bangladesh. In order to bridge the gap between the disconnected communities and digital services, Bangladesh leveraged their 14,000 community clinics and 4,500 union digital centers. Combatting resource constraints, knowing priorities, tracking after immunization and coordinating between different ministries were crucial in Bangladesh's vaccination drive.

Having a strategic vaccination plan open to the public can give a lot of structure to published data. In this connection, Ms Natalia Aquilino, Incidence, Monitoring and Evaluation Program Director, CIPPEC, Argentina; shared four (4) recommendations: i) Coordination strategy amongst regional and national entities - both in a vertical and horizontal manner, ii) Central open data policy to produce and standardize data and address state restrictions, iii) Development of monitoring and evaluation framework and adoption of open government data standards, and iv) Disaggregation standards to allow inter-operability of data and multi-dimensional strategizing.

Mr Terry Parris Jr., Engagement Director, THE CITY, USA, based on the experience of New York, USA said, data regarding COVID-19 related fatalities were scarce and data from medical examiners weren't being released. This disparity was also reflected in the vaccine rollout where lack of data was resulting inequity in the inoculation process, and this is where CBOs, local technologists and journalist organizations could step in to fill the gaps.

The session was moderated by Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, Chair, Southern Voice and Distinguished Fellow, CPD. In his concluding remarks, he emphasized on finding out how the impact of the pandemic will affect different sectors, different communities and groups (LNOBs, PNOBs, vulnerable people, minority groups). In the realm of data, there needs to be a new framework with new partnerships and rules of business with adequate attention to data privacy for an improved data ecosystem. The pandemic has created a greater opportunity to redesign a more resilient national healthcare system and social protection system.