Microplanning as a tool to strengthen the National Immunization Program in Brazil

Araújo et al.

Objective

To measure the variation in number of doses, vaccination coverage (VC) of administered vaccines, and number of municipalities that achieved the VC target in Brazil with the implementation of microplanning for high-quality vaccination activities (HQVA) and decentralized multivaccination actions. 

Method

This quasi-experimental study used data from the National Live Birth Information System, the National Immunization Program Information System, and the National Health Data Network. The number of doses of hepatitis A (HA), meningococcal conjugate-C, oral poliomyelitis, 10-valent pneumococcal, diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP), and measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccines administered to children under 2 years of age in 2022 (premicroplanning) and 2023 (post-microplanning) was estimated. VC and the number of municipalities that achieved the VC target were also estimated. 

Results

In 2022, 13 253 873 doses of the selected vaccines were recorded. In 2023, 13 570 346 doses were administered. An increase in VC was observed, especially for the DTP vaccine (increase > 12%); and for the HA and MMR vaccines (increase close to 10%). The number of municipalities that reached the VC target grew in 2023 (increase of 51.98% for MMR and 7.77% for the meningococcal vaccine). 

Conclusion

Microplanning strengthened routine immunization and was a timely measure to address situations of declining VC. This favorable outcome also highlights the importance of continuing and expanding these actions to achieve and maintain positive results.

Article's language
Portuguese
Original research