Digital health funding for COVID-19 vaccine deployment across four major donor agencies.

ABSTRACT

The international response to the COVID-19 pandemic provided opportunities for countries to use digital technologies for vaccine deployment and associated activities, but misaligned digital investments could weaken or fragment national systems. In this review of 311 funding applications from 120 country governments to four donor agencies (UNICEF; Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and the World Bank) up to May 1, 2022, we found that 272 (87%) of the applications included at least one digital aspect and that substantial funding has been dedicated towards digital aspects from donors. The majority of digital aspects concerned immunisation information systems, vaccine acceptance and uptake, and COVID-19 surveillance. As the global community sets its sights on a COVID-19-free world, continued coordinated investments in digital health and health information systems for pandemic preparedness and response will be key to strengthening the resilience of health systems.