As we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Expanded Programme Immunization (EPI), we reflect on the continued role vaccines play in child health and survival. Now, more than ever, it is crucial to reach zero-dose children (children who have yet to receive any vaccines) and to explore innovative strategies to ensure every child is protected.
At the recent G20 third Health Working Group meeting in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, I had the privilege to share UNICEF's commitment to leveraging digital health and artificial intelligence (AI) to support public health initiatives, especially for vulnerable populations like children. Achieving zero-dose immunization coverage is #HumanlyPossible with the right application of these technologies.
The promise of AI in reaching the unvaccinated
AI and digital technologies can revolutionize immunization and health equity, particularly by identifying and reaching zero-dose children who missed routine vaccines. By leveraging machine learning (ML) and data analytics, we can enhance our understanding of population dynamics, allowing for precise health interventions.
UNICEF's Reaching the Unreached programme in West and Central Africa uses ML to combine satellite imagery, census projections, national household surveys and geospatial data to identify settlements and map population distribution in detail. By integrating this data with immunization coverage from national surveys, we can map under-vaccinated and zero-dose children down to a village level.
These techniques also help map demographics and socioeconomic indicators, providing additional insights on equitable access to services, vulnerability and gender barriers.
Ethical considerations in the implementation of AI
While the potential benefits of AI for public health are immense, it is essential to prioritize ethical considerations, especially when dealing with vulnerable populations like children. UNICEF is acutely aware of the unique risks associated with the increased use of data and the implementation of AI technologies.
Our approach is twofold: safeguarding children’s data and ensuring the equitable use of AI technologies.
Children's data requires special consideration due to their developmental stage and the long-term risk of impact of data misuse. To address these challenges, UNICEF has developed policy guidance on AI for children, tailored AI guidance documents for parents and teens and the Child Rights and Business Principles. Our Responsible Data for Children (RD4C) initiative, in partnership with GovLab emphasizes the importance of good data governance and the need to consider the unique vulnerabilities of children. We are committed to ensuring that AI technologies are used responsibly and equitably in our health programmes.
Strengthening primary healthcare through digital training
Strengthening primary healthcare (PHC) systems is crucial for addressing and reaching zero-dose children. PHC systems are the first point of contact for most families and are key to immunization campaigns. Training health workers and community health workers in digital technologies is essential for the success of these efforts.
Equipping health workers with digital tools not only improves their ability to track immunization schedules, it also enables them to monitor vaccine stock and report data accurately. Community health workers can use digital platforms to educate parents, track immunization coverage and identify zero-dose children.
Investing in digital training for these workers enhances immunization coverage and overall healthcare delivery, ensuring that no child is left behind. Achieving this level of accessibility and efficiency is possible with the right digital interventions.
Global collaboration and commitment
During the recent G20 meeting I highlighted the critical role of global collaboration in ensuring that every individual has access to their health information in a digital format. The G20 plays a pivotal role in driving this agenda forward and several key steps and policy measures are essential to move the needle on global commitments and collaboration:
- Patient-centric systems: Empower individuals with ownership of and access to their health data. Personal Health Records should provide patients with full control over their data and facilitate data portability across public and private sector providers.
- Universal digital personal health records (DPHRs): the use of DPHRs ensures children's health information is accessible, secure and up-to-date. This improves access to health care, continuity of care, the ability to monitor personalized care and strengthens preventative interventions. Digital health records can also significantly enhance broader public health outcomes and support universal birth registration and a legal identity for every child by 2030.
- Investments in digital public goods: Treat investments in AI as digital public goods including natural language processing libraries, algorithms and data. This prevents digital divides, fragmentation and vendor lock-ins, and reduces risks to vulnerable and marginalized communities.
As we mark the achievements of EPI over the past 50 years, it is imperative to leverage digital health and AI to address the remaining challenges in immunization coverage.
Together, we can harness the power of digital health to reach zero-dose children and achieve global health equity. With the collective effort and commitment of all stakeholders, a healthy world for every child is truly #HumanlyPossible.
