Orientation Programme for Members of National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups of WHO South-East Asia Region

The three-day Orientation Programme for NITAG members, from 16-18 June 2026, organized by Public Health Foundation of India in collaboration with Asian Development Bank and technical support from WHO South-East Asia, brought together NITAG Chairs and members from across the Region in New Delhi for an intensive and candid exchange on strengthening the functioning of national immunization technical advisory bodies. The programme was supported by 19 distinguished resource persons from leading institutions, academia, and international agencies across the globe.

Inaugurated by senior representatives from WHO SEARO, ADB, India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and PHFI, the programme set out from day one to address not what NITAG members already know as immunization experts, but how NITAGs should function — their governance, decision-making processes, and institutional credibility.

Sessions traced the regional evolution of NITAGs based on maturity assessment conducted in 2026, examined operational realities including conflict-of-interest management and secretariat support, and grounded participants in the Evidence-to-Recommendation framework covering systematic reviews, epidemiology, and economic modelling. A dedicated presentation on Gavi 6.0 outlined the evolving global financing landscape and its direct implications for country investment cases and NITAG functioning. A dedicated hands-on session on the Vaccine Portfolio Optimization and Prioritization (VPOP) tool gave participants direct, practical exposure — working in country groups to apply the framework to real prioritization scenarios, building comfort and capability that participants can now carry back to their own NITAG deliberations. Sessions on emergency preparedness, artificial intelligence in decision-making, and disease elimination strategies were enriched throughout by candid country experiences and peer exchange.

A consistent theme was that every NITAG recommendation must be evidence-complete — stating both its source of evidence and any residual gap — and that NITAGs must shift from being consumers of evidence to catalysts for evidence generation, signalling where evidence is missing and commissioning research to close it. There was a session on use of artificial intelligence to support in evidence compilation, and discussed approaches to building national capacity for AI-assisted evidence review. Session on vaccine safety surveillance highlighted that global reporting from the Region remains inadequate, and identified NITAGs as having a significant role to play in strengthening surveillance systems and improving the quality and completeness of safety data.

The programme closed with delegates reaffirming their commitment to scientifically grounded, transparent, and operationally feasible recommendations, and with a shared resolve to strengthen the networks, tools, and institutional rigour built over three days — recognizing that the programme's true success will be measured not in this room, but in the recommendations, policies, and lives protected once participants return home.