Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Feb 19:13:1464370.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1464370. eCollection 2025.

Evaluation of National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs) of middle-income countries in the WHO European Region; a synopsis

Wiebe Külper-Schiek  1 , Liudmila Mosina  2 , Lisa A Jacques-Carroll  2 , Annika Falman  1 , Thomas Harder  1 , Eduard Kakarriqi  3 , Iria Preza  4 , Arman Badalyan  5 , Gayane Sahakyan  6 , Oxana Romanova  7 , Veronika Shimanovich  8 , Sanjin Musa  9 , Dinagul Bayesheva  10 , Nurshay Azimbayeva  11 , Zuridin Nurmatov  12 , Vera Toigombaeva  13 , Ninel Revenco  14 , Veaceslav Gutu  15 , Ljiljana Markovic-Denic  16 , Branka Bonaci-Nikolic  16   17 , Dilorom Tursunova  18 , Nigora Tadzhiyeva  19 , Ole Wichmann  1 , Siddhartha Sankar Datta  2
Affiliations

Evaluation of National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs) of middle-income countries in the WHO European Region; a synopsis

Wiebe Külper-Schiek et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Introduction: A National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG) provides independent guidance to Ministries of Health (MoH) and policymakers, enabling them to make informed decisions on national immunization policies and practices. As of 2022, 50 of the 53 countries in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region (the Region) had established a NITAG, with 58% of all NITAGs and 66% of those in middle-income countries (MICs) in the Region meeting all six WHO process indicators of NITAG functionality. However, many newly established NITAGs in MICs in the Region experience challenges in terms of their functioning, structure, and outputs.

Methods: To address these challenges and achieve the goal of evidence-informed decision making on immunizations, the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) implemented a project to strengthen the functioning of MIC NITAGs of the Region through comprehensive evaluations of nine NITAGs and development and implementation of improvement plans.

Results: All evaluated NITAGs are formally established and complete the most important aspects of NITAG functioning. The main challenge for all NITAGs is the lack of a well-staffed Secretariat to establish annual workplans and develop NITAG recommendations following a standardized process.

Discussion: The evaluation identified NITAGs' strengths and challenges. Some challenges have been addressed through improvement plan implementation. WHO and RKI will continue to evaluate NITAGs and support development and implementation of improvement plans. WHO and NITAG partners will continue to provide training on the standardized recommendation-making process and advocate increased MoH support to NITAGs, including dedicated Secretariat staff.

Keywords: National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (NITAG); World Health Organization; evaluation; evidence-based decision making; immunization; immunization policy; middle-income countries; vaccination.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

References

    1. Duclos P. National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs): Guidance for their establishment and strengthening. Vaccine. (2010) 28:A18–25. 10.1016/j.vaccine.2010.02.027 - DOI - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization . Guidance for the development of evidence-based vaccination-related recommendations. In: Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization. Geneva: World Health Organization; (2017).
    1. Bell S, Blanchard L, Walls H, Mounier-Jack S, Howard N. Value and effectiveness of National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups in low- and middle-income countries: a qualitative study of global and national perspectives. Health Policy Plan. (2019) 34:271–81. 10.1093/heapol/czz027 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Howard N, Bell S, Walls H, Blanchard L, Brenzel L, Jit M, et al. . The need for sustainability and alignment of future support for National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs) in low and middle-income countries. Hum Vaccin Immunother. (2018) 14:1539–41. 10.1080/21645515.2018.1444321 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization . Global Vaccine Action Plan 2011-2020. (2013). Available at: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/global-vaccine-action-plan-2011-... (accessed December 19, 2024).

LinkOut - more resources