Improving Vaccine Access and Supply in Papua New Guinea
Finding new ways to reach children missing out on life-saving vaccines
In parts of Papua New Guinea, travelling to and from health facilities can be challenging. In urban areas such as Port Moresby, safety concerns — particularly for women — can affect how health workers and families access vital services, including childhood immunisation.
Judy Agui, a community health worker at the Six Mile Well Baby Clinic, has experienced these difficulties first-hand. “The workforce here is made up of female workers. With crime on the rise, we fear being held up by thugs on the road on our way to work.”
A 2014 survey by UN Women found that over 90% of women in Papua New Guinea reported experiencing some form of violence while using public transport. While private transportation can be an alternative, safety risks still exist. For Judy and her colleagues, collecting vaccines from central facilities was time-consuming and involved navigating security concerns.
“You had to look for transport, travel from point A to point B, drop off your orders, and collect your orders. The main challenge (for my work) used to be transport, because of security.”
Families also face obstacles in accessing immunisation services. Mothers may travel long distances to reach a clinic, only to find that vaccines are out of stock, damaged, or that the facility is closed. These access issues contribute to low national immunisation coverage (currently around 50%), leaving children at risk of preventable disease outbreaks.
Digital tools are now helping to improve the system. Since 2022, Judy has been using mSupply, a digital platform that streamlines vaccine ordering and distribution. Supported by UNICEF and funded by the Government of Japan and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the tool allows her to submit orders from her clinic, with deliveries arriving the next day. “It simplifies my work as a nurse, and it’s fast. It has really impacted our services here at Well Baby.”
Broader improvements are also underway. The eSupervisory tool, introduced with support from the Government of Japan, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and UNICEF, enables the National Department of Health to monitor cold chain conditions and track immunisation sessions. This data-driven approach is strengthening management and oversight across the country.
“Reaching every child with life-saving vaccines should not come at the cost of a mother’s safety or a nurse’s security,” said Satish Gupta, Chief of Health at UNICEF Papua New Guinea. “By introducing digital tools like mSupply and eSupervisory, we are not only improving vaccine delivery systems—we are ensuring healthcare workers can do their jobs safely and swiftly, helping restore trust in health services, especially for the most vulnerable. This is what innovation for equity looks like.”
“Before these tools were rolled out across facilities, monitoring was below 10% and there was no clear standard of how to assess performance. Now that we have a standard, we can improve the performance of these facilities”
The government sees these innovations as part of a longer-term strategy. “Papua New Guinea is not immune to anything when we look at pandemics and climate change,” says Pogo.
“The government should be open minded in terms of taking on improvements in the future, to improve the vaccination rate, but also to just ensure that children have better access to healthcare. Every child needs that healthy life.”
