From 22-25 November, stakeholders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) participated in “Towards Digital Microplanning”, a four-day forum organised by the GRID3 Mapping for Health project, promoting innovative geospatial data and gender equity solutions that will support vaccination interventions in the country.

Participants included representatives of the provincial health divisions of the Ministry of Health, Hygiene and Prevention from seven provinces (Kinshasa, Kwilu, Kasaï, Kasaï Oriental, Lomami, Haut Katanga, and Haut Lomami); the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI); and other national and international partners, such as WHO and UNICEF.

The workshop’s presentations, discussions, panels, and practical workshops covered a wide array of topics; most importantly, they centred on the production, implementation, and use of the outputs produced through the GRID3 Mapping for Health project. These outputs include:

• Maps of localities, health facilities, and health areas in target provinces
• High-resolution estimates of provincial populations’ distributions and characteristics
• Geo-referenced microplanning support documents based on key geospatial data
• National estimates of population movements
• Tools to further integrate gender and equity considerations into vaccination planning

The innovative datasets and toolkits presented at the forum — once integrated into microplanning processes — will move the DRC towards digital, and more accurate immunisation planning which can ultimately help enhance child immunisation coverage.