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The Ministry of Health and Wellness has partnered with the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to turn immunisation data into actionable insights.

Building on the foundation laid at a November 2024 data-use workshop, the new data-use strategy aims to enhance the country’s decision-making processes and improve immunisation outcomes. Along with PAHO, the ministry will also receive implementational support from Palladium LLC, the lead implementer of the US-funded Data for Implementation (Data.Fi) project.

Pilots in Montego Bay and Clarendon

As key component of this data-use strategy is the introduction of “situation rooms”, which are dedicated spaces where health teams come together to review, analyse, and act on immunisation data in real time.

Already, the project team has tapped the Montego Bay Type V Health Centre in St James and Mocho Health Centre in Clarendon to be among the pilot sites for Jamaica’s electronic immunisation registry (EIR). As such, the health facilities are the first to implement this data-use strategy.

As part of the country’s broader effort to modernise its Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), these health centres are leading the way in promoting a culture of data-informed decision-making at the local and regional levels. Through regular, structured data reviews, the situation rooms help identify performance gaps, explore root causes, and develop targeted action plans to improve immunisation outcomes.

Central to this initiative is a commitment to use data not just for reporting, but for real-time problem-solving, as the situation rooms bring together health professionals, data analysts, and decision-makers to review routine immunisation data biweekly. Using tailored analytics and visualisation tools, participants co-create action plans based on evidence and local context. This applied methodology is central to the EIR data-use strategy and represents a critical step toward strengthening the EPI and preparing for the national rollout of the digital registry.

Learning and implementing

“These sessions are more than just meetings. They are dynamic spaces for accountability and learning,” said Dr Melody Ennis, EIR project manager at the health ministry.

“We are equipping our teams with the tools and mindset to use data as a catalyst for continuous improvement,” she continued.

Support this shift to data-driven immunisation, the project team has developed a standardised action plan template that helps translate insights from data reviews into concrete, time-bound interventions. The template includes sections for identifying performance gaps, assigning responsibilities, and tracking follow-up actions, thus ensuring that data leads to measurable change. Early feedback from the Montego Bay and Mocho pilots highlights increased engagement among health workers and a stronger sense of ownership of immunisation outcomes.

This initiative is part of a broader programme from Canada’s Global Initiative for Vaccine Equity (CanGIVE), with technical assistance from PAHO and UNICEF. It reflects a growing recognition that digital tools alone are not enough. Rather, it is how data is used to inform decisions, allocate resources, and ultimately, protect lives.

For Jamaica, the lessons learned from these pilots will guide national scale-up and provide valuable insights for other countries in the region pursuing enhanced digital health transformations.