COVID-19 vaccination data management and visualization systems for improved decision-making: Lessons learnt from Africa CDC Saving Lives and Livelihoods program

The DHIS2 system enabled real-time tracking of vaccine distribution and administration to facilitate data-driven decisions. Experts from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) and Management Information System (MIS) teams, with support from the Health Information Systems Program South Africa (HISP-SA), developed the continental COVID-19 vaccination tracking system. Several variables related to COVID-19 vaccination were considered in developing the system. Three-hundred fifty users can access the system at different levels with specific roles and privileges. Four dashboards with high-level summary visualizations were developed for top leadership for decision-making, while pages with detailed programmatic results are available to other users depending on their level of access. Africa CDC staff at different levels with a role-based account can view and interact with the dashboards and make necessary decisions based on the COVID-19 vaccination data from program implementation areas on the continent. The Africa CDC vaccination program dashboard provided essential information for public health officials to monitor the continental COVID-19 vaccination efforts and guide timely decisions. As the impact of COVID-19 is not yet over, the continental tracking of COVID-19 vaccine uptake and dashboard visualizations are used to provide the context of continental COVID-19 vaccination coverage and multiple other metrics that may impact the continental COVID-19 vaccine uptake. The lessons learned during the development and implementation of a continental COVID-19 vaccination tracking and visualization dashboard may be applied across various other public health events of continental and global concern.