Har Zindagi: Immunization Information System for Punjab, Pakistan
Published:
Overview
Har Zindagi (“Every Life Matters” in Urdu) is an Immunization Information System (IIS) designed and piloted with the Government of Punjab, Pakistan. The system allows for digital record creation of routine vaccinations in the field, and reminder notifications to parents through SMS and robocalls.
Impact
- 7-month pilot deployed across two districts of Punjab
- 17,000 children vaccinated by 50 state-appointed vaccinators during pilot
- System now scaled province-wide, with 4 million children being immunized annually
- Research on detecting data falsification by front-line workers published at CHI 2021
Key Innovations
- Digital vaccination record creation at point of care
- Automated reminder system via SMS and robocalls
- Anomaly detection algorithms to identify data falsification
- Mobile app for vaccinator supervisors to monitor immunization data
Funding
- DFID District Delivery Challenge Fund (2015-2017): UK £250,000
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenges Round 21 (2018-2020): $100,000 for anomaly detection system
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenges Round 22 (2019-2020): $100,000 for supervisor dashboard
Publications
- Batool, A., Toyama, K., Veinot, T., Fatima, B., & Naseem, M. (2021). Detecting Data Falsification by Front-line Development Workers: A Case Study of Vaccination in Pakistan. CHI 2021
- Razaq, S., Batool, A., Ali, U., Khalid, M. S., Saif, U., & Naseem, M. (2016). Iterative Design of an Immunization Information System in Pakistan. ACM DEV 2016