Background: Global health partnerships have grown rapidly in number and scope, yet there has been less emphasis on their evaluation. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, is one such public-private partnership; in Gavi-eligible countries partnerships are dynamic networks of immunization actors who work together to support all stages and aspects of Gavi support. This paper describes a conceptual framework – the partnership framework – and analytic approach for evaluating the perceptions of partnerships’ added value as well as the results from an application to one case in Uganda. Methods: We used a mixed-methods case study design embedded in the Gavi Full Country Evaluations (FCE) to test the partnership framework on Uganda’s human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine application partnership. Data from document review, interviews, and social network surveys enabled the testing of the relationships between partnership framework domains (context, structure, practices, performance, and outcomes). Topic guides were based on the framework domains and network surveys identified working together relationships, professional trust, and perceptions of the effectiveness, efficiency, and legitimacy of the partnership’s role in this process. Results: Data from seven in-depth interviews, 11 network surveys and document review were analyzed according to the partnership framework, confirming relationships between the framework domains. Trust was an important contributor to the perceived effectiveness of the process. The network was structured around the EPI program, who was considered the leader of this process. While the structure and composition of the network was largely viewed as supporting an effective and legitimate process, the absence of the Ministry of Education (MoE) may have had downstream consequences if this study’s results had not been shared with the Ministry of Health (MoH) and acted upon. The partnership was not perceived to have increased the efficiency of the process, perhaps as a result of unclear or absent guidelines around roles and responsibilities. Conclusion: The health and functioning of global health partnerships can be evaluated using the framework and approach presented here. Network theory and methods added value to the conceptual and analytic processes and we recommend applying this approach to other global health partnerships to ensure that they are meeting the complex challenges they were designed to address.

Background: Globally, cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women with more than 85% of the burden in developing countries. In Uganda, cervical cancer has shown an increase of 1.8% per annum over the last 20 years. The availability of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine presents an opportunity to prevent cervical cancer. Understanding how the health system influences uptake of the vaccine is critical to improve it. This study aimed to assess how the health systems is influencing uptake of HPV vaccine so as to inform policy for vaccine implementation and uptake in Mbale district, Eastern Uganda. Methods: We conducted a cross sectional study of 407 respondents, selected from 56 villages. Six key informant interviews were conducted with District Health Officials involved in implementation of the HPV vaccine. Quantitative data was analyzed using Stata V.13. Prevalence ratios with their confidence intervals were reported. Qualitative data was audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed using MAXQDA V.12, using the six steps of thematic analysis developed by Braun and Clarke. Results: Fifty six (14%) of 407 adolescents self-reported vaccine uptake. 182 (52.3%) of 348 reported lack of awareness about the HPV vaccine as the major reason for not having received it. Receiving vaccines from outreach clinics (p = 0.02), having many options from which to receive the vaccine (p = 0.02), getting an explanation on possible side-effects (p = 0.024), and receiving the vaccine alongside other services (p = 0.024) were positively associated with uptake. Key informants reported inconsistency in vaccine supply, inadequate training on HPV vaccine, and the lack of a clear target for HPV vaccine coverage as the factors that contribute to low uptake. Conclusion: We recommend training of health workers to provide adequate information on HPV vaccine, raising awareness of the vaccine in markets, schools, and radio talk shows, and communicating the target to health workers. Uptake of the HPV vaccine was lower than the Ministry of Health target of 80%. We recommend training of health workers to clearly provide adequate information on HPV vaccine, increasing awareness about the vaccine to the adolescents and increasing access for girls in and out of school.

Introduction Globally, cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women with more than 85% of the burden in developing countries. In Uganda, cervical cancer has shown an increase of 1.8% per annum over the last twenty years. The availability of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine presents an opportunity to prevent cervical cancer. Understanding how the health system influences uptake of the vaccine is critical to improve it. This study aimed to assess how the health systems is influencing uptake of HPV vaccine so as to inform policy for vaccine implementation and uptake in Mbale district, Eastern Uganda. Methods We conducted a cross sectional study of 407 respondents, selected from 56 villages. Six key informant interviews were conducted with District Health Officials involved in implementation of the HPV vaccine. Quantitative data was analyzed using Stata V.13. Prevalence ratios with their confidence intervals were reported. Qualitative data was audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed using MAXQDA V.12, using the six steps of thematic analysis developed by Braun and Clarke. Results 56 (14%) of 407 adolescents self-reported vaccine uptake. 182 (52.3%) of 348 reported lack of awareness about the HPV vaccine as the major reason for not having received it. Receiving vaccines from outreach clinics (p=0.02), having many options from which to receive the vaccine (p=0.02), getting an explanation on possible side-effects (p=0.024), and receiving the vaccine alongside other services (p=0.024) were positively associated with uptake. Key informants reported inconsistency in vaccine supply, inadequate training on HPV vaccine, and the lack of a clear target for HPV vaccine coverage as the factors that contribute to low uptake. Recommendation We recommend training of health workers to provide adequate information on HPV vaccine, raising awareness of the vaccine in markets, schools, and radio talk shows, and communicating the target to health workers. Conclusion Uptake of the HPV vaccine was lower than the Ministry of health target of 80%. We recommend more training of health workers to clearly provide adequate information on HPV vaccine, increasing awareness about the vaccine to the adolescents and reaching out to adolescents in and out of school for vaccination..

BackgroundThe under-5 mortality rate (U5MR) is an important metric of child health and survival. Country-level estimates of U5MR are readily available, but efforts to estimate U5MR subnationally have been limited, in part, due to spatial misalignment of available data sources (e.g., use of different administrative levels, or as a result of historical boundary changes).MethodsWe analyzed all available complete and summary birth history data in surveys and censuses in six countries (Bangladesh, Cameroon, Chad, Mozambique, Uganda, and Zambia) at the finest geographic level available in each data source. We then developed small area estimation models capable of incorporating spatially misaligned data. These small area estimation models were applied to the birth history data in order to estimate trends in U5MR from 1980 to 2015 at the second administrative level in Cameroon, Chad, Mozambique, Uganda, and Zambia and at the third administrative level in Bangladesh.ResultsWe found substantial variation in U5MR in all six countries: there was more than a two-fold difference in U5MR between the area with the highest rate and the area with the lowest rate in every country. All areas in all countries experienced declines in U5MR between 1980 and 2015, but the degree varied both within and between countries. In Cameroon, Chad, Mozambique, and Zambia we found areas with U5MRs in 2015 that were higher than in other parts of the same country in 1980. Comparing subnational U5MR to country-level targets for the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), we find that 12.8% of areas in Bangladesh did not meet the country-level target, although the country as whole did. A minority of areas in Chad, Mozambique, Uganda, and Zambia met the country-level MDG targets while these countries as a whole did not.ConclusionsSubnational estimates of U5MR reveal significant within-country variation. These estimates could be used for identifying high-need areas and positive deviants, tracking trends in geographic inequalities, and evaluating progress towards international development targets such as the Sustainable Development Goals.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12963-018-0171-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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