Georgia Health Information and Disease Surveillance Reform project was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Aid/ Caucasus (USAID) and was implemented in partnership with Partners for Health Reform Plus (PHRplus) Project and Curatio International Foundation. The objective of the project was to strengthen Immunization Management Information System (MIS) and Vaccine Preventable Disease (VPD) Surveillance. The project ran from January 2002 until September 2006.

The project was designed and implemented in coordination with principal stakeholders from the Interagency Coordinating Committee (ICC) of Georgia. ICC members were invited from the Department of Public Health, Ministry of Labour, Health, and Social Affairs (MoLHSA), the National Centre for Disease Control and Medical Statistics (NCDC), and international organizations, such as USAID and UN Agencies (UNICEF, WHO). The project aimed to provide assistance to the Government of Georgia to improve the Immunization Information System and the Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases to provide public health managers, providers of health services, and other stakeholders with appropriate information for making correct strategic, tactical, and operative decisions to keep the VPD epidemiological situation under control. The project also aimed to reduce the morbidity and mortality burden of these diseases on the population and to determine how to use the available vaccines and other programme resources more efficiently.

Immunization MIS:

The improved MIS model is based on an accurate census of the child population, performed by every health facility in its catchments area on an annual basis. The model enables the Health workers to more accurately determine target population, project vaccine needs, compute immunization coverage, and evaluate performance of individual facilities. The reformed MIS model also includes a number of innovations that allow better immunization program management and more rational use of resources at all levels. Countrywide implementation of the reformed MIS was supported by the Decree of the MoLHSA.

The reform package included:

Immunization MIS guidelines for health care providers and public health workers
Job aids for public health and facility workers
Software application “GEOVAC” for the district, regional and National levels. The application improves the process of data unification, enables to determine poorly performing administrative units, and identifies underlying reasons causing the deficiencies.