{"id":8327,"date":"2026-02-12T07:24:04","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T07:24:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/godshand.link\/ground_post\/subnational-implementation-review-workshop-of-the-big-catch-up-bcu-immunization-initiativein-priority-countries-of-the-who-south-east-asia-region\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T07:24:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T07:24:04","slug":"subnational-implementation-review-workshop-of-the-big-catch-up-bcu-immunization-initiativein-priority-countries-of-the-who-south-east-asia-region","status":"publish","type":"ground_post","link":"https:\/\/godshand.link\/en_gb\/ground_post\/subnational-implementation-review-workshop-of-the-big-catch-up-bcu-immunization-initiativein-priority-countries-of-the-who-south-east-asia-region\/","title":{"rendered":"Subnational implementation review workshop of the Big Catch-Up (BCU) immunization initiative\nin priority countries of the WHO South-East Asia Region"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Overview <\/h3>\n

The WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia (WHO-SEARO) convened the subnational implementation review workshop of the Big Catch-Up (BCU) immunization initiative in New Delhi on 10\u201312 December 2025, bringing together national and subnational immunization managers, technical experts and WHO staff members from Nepal, Myanmar, India and Timor-Leste, alongside WHO personnel from the Regional Office and headquarters. Key partners \u2013 including the United Nations Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), John Snow India (JSI) and Immunization Technical Support Unit (ITSU) \u2013 joined the workshop to jointly review BCU progress and shape strategies for institutionalizing catch-up vaccination.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>The workshop highlighted significant recovery since the launch of the BCU initiative in 2023 to address immunity gaps widened by COVID-19. Countries reported meaningful reductions in zero-dose children, improved antigen coverage and increasing integration of catch-up into routine systems. India\u2019s progress stood out, with a 43% reduction in zero-dose children and strong antigen-specific gains supported by digital platforms such as the Universal Immunization Web\u2011enabled Network (U-WIN).<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/span>Throughout the workshop, country teams exchanged lessons on addressing persistent routine immunization gaps, leveraging digital tools for tracking and monitoring, and tailoring strategies for urban, mobile and hard-to-reach populations. Field visits in Delhi provided participants with practical exposure to service delivery models, community engagement approaches and local innovations that are helping to strengthen coverage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Technical sessions from WHO and partners reinforced these discussions. WHO emphasized critical data gaps and the need for stronger digital systems to sustain routine catch-up. The WHO headquarters (WHO HQ) provided global insights, noting that while the BCU initiative improved planning, monitoring and stakeholder engagement, countries must now transition from campaign-style activities to fully institutionalized routine systems.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Partners presented complementary perspectives. Gavi outlined its 6.0 strategy to streamline funding, improve data systems and scale innovations. UNICEF presented regional insights and case studies from Nepal and Myanmar, underscoring the role of community engagement, behavioural insights, and strengthened cold-chain and delivery systems in improving equity and sustaining routine immunization.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>India\u2019s Delhi team demonstrated how targeted microplanning, U-WIN-enabled tracking and focused outreach helped reduce zero-dose children in complex urban settings. PATH showcased a range of innovations \u2013 from cold-chain technologies to 5 human-centered design and digital tools \u2013 that can improve access for underserved populations. ITSU highlighted the need for stronger urban-focused planning, enhanced microplanning and data-driven, community-centered delivery approaches. The JSI emphasized the importance of localization through community-based organizations and hyper-local communication to improve vaccination uptake and equity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Despite progress, participants acknowledged ongoing challenges, including coverage inequities, data quality issues, resource constraints and workforce limitations. Countries identified key priorities: developing country-owned workplans, strengthening real-time data systems, sustaining partner engagement, and prioritizing approaches for vulnerable and underserved populations.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Closing the workshop, Dr Suman Rijal, Director for Department of Communicable Diseases, WHO-SEARO, underscored the need to embed catch-up vaccination as a routine, continuous component of immunization programmes. He emphasized prioritizing vulnerable groups, smarter resource allocation, stronger community engagement and accelerated digitalization to sustain gains. He reaffirmed WHO\u2019s commitment to continued collaboration and cross-country learning to ensure no child is left behind.<\/div>\n
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The BCU workshop served as a critical regional platform to consolidate evidence, share practical solutions and reinforce collective commitment to institutionalizing catch-up vaccination across the Region.<\/div>\n
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WHO Team<\/div>\n
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\nCommunicable Diseases, <\/span>
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\nImmunization & Vaccines Development, <\/span>
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\nSEARO Regional Office for the South East Asia (RGO), <\/span>
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\nWHO South-East Asia <\/span>\n <\/div><\/div>\n
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Editors<\/div>\n
World Health Organization. Regional Office for South-East Asia\t<\/div><\/div>\n
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Number of pages<\/div>\n
37<\/div><\/div>\n
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Reference numbers<\/div>\n
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WHO Reference Number: <\/strong>SEA-IMMUN-180<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
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Download (2.3 MB) Overview The WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia (WHO-SEARO) convened the subnational implementation review workshop of the Big Catch-Up (BCU) immunization initiative in New Delhi on 10\u201312 December 2025, bringing together national and subnational immunization managers, technical experts and WHO staff members from Nepal, Myanmar, India and Timor-Leste, alongside WHO personnel from the Regional Office and headquarters.…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":99035,"featured_media":8328,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"tags":[815,1834,1516,1833,789,1536,838,1835,1836,699,827,823,1832,1312],"ground_category":[315,316],"class_list":["post-8327","ground_post","type-ground_post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-asia","tag-bcu","tag-big","tag-catchup","tag-countries","tag-immunization","tag-implementation","tag-initiativein","tag-priority","tag-region","tag-review","tag-southeast","tag-subnational","tag-workshop","ground_category-2-grounds-tribulation","ground_category-2-1-time-disease"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/iris.who.int\/server\/api\/core\/bitstreams\/76ff3948-c420-4a41-b3ac-a18e60975d1b\/content","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/godshand.link\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ground_post\/8327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/godshand.link\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ground_post"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/godshand.link\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ground_post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/godshand.link\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/99035"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/godshand.link\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/godshand.link\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ground_post\/8327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/godshand.link\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/godshand.link\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/godshand.link\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8327"},{"taxonomy":"ground_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/godshand.link\/en_gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ground_category?post=8327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}