NITAGs

PIVI’s Work with NITAGs

What is a NITAG and why are they important?

National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs) are groups of national experts who use evidence-based methods to develop recommendations on vaccines and immunization for policy-makers and program managers. They consider both global information and local epidemiological and social contexts to empower decision-makers to make credible policy decisions, which are crucial for securing government funding and public acceptance for new vaccines.

Strong and functioning NITAGs are a critical component in moving countries from evidence to action – and on to implementing effective data-driven vaccine programs.

PIVI has supported NITAG strengthening since 2017 – working with partners such as CDC , WHO, and the Global NITAG Network to:

Provide training to new NITAGs,
Developing tools to support the development of evidence-based recommendations for vaccine-preventable diseases
Providing training and technical support to country NITAGs to develop recommendations for seasonal influenza vaccination.

PIVI continues to offer support to NITAGs by providing several types of support, including:

Toolkits for facilitated training and self-learning in the Evidence to Recommendations process;
Tools for assessment of NITAG maturity (NITAG Maturity Assessment tool – NMAT);
Working with partners like CDC, WHO HQ and Regional offices, GNN and NITAG Support Hub (NISH) to provide facilitated training and continued technical support to develop vaccine recommendations for influenza and other diseases.

PIVI and The Task Force for Global Health are a partner institution of the Global NITAG Network (GNN). The GNN Resource Center is where NITAGs can go for up to date information and materials for evidence based decision making.