𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐄𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐀 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫-𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐈𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Last week, we successfully conducted the “𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩,”marking a significant milestone in socializing the gender study with key stakeholders and gathering their insights about the study.

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, in collaboration with health.enabled, Ministry of Health, and other stakeholders developed the Digital Health Information (DHI) for Immunization roadmap aims to leverage digital innovations to improve immunization outcomes. This roadmap is focused on building an equitable, gender-intentional health information system designed to reach zero-dose and under-immunized children, ensuring that no child is left behind.

CDHi- Center for Digital Health and Implementation Science at University of Gondar, in collaboration with health.enabled and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Gender Equity Unit, is supporting the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) of the DHI Roadmap implementation over an 18-month period.

As part of the MEL objectives, a study for assessing gender inclusiveness in the DHI for immunization implementation was developed. A participatory design workshop was organized to engage stakeholders, map gender dynamics within the digital health and immunization ecosystem, and refine the research questions that will guide the gender study moving forward.

In addition to successful completion of the workshop Dr. Patty Mechael from health.enabled and Dr. Xueli Qiu from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Gender Equity Unit, had also made a visit at CDHi- Center for Digital Health and Implementation Science , Addis Ababa office aiming to further explore the workshop findings and investigate the impact of gender-specific policies in digital health information and immunization efforts in Ethiopia.

Together, we’re creating a pathway for improved immunization outcomes that supports the digital transformation of healthcare in Ethiopia, while ensuring gender equity remains at the forefront of this journey.