Survey to Reveal Indonesia's Immunization Rates

A survey funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation's (MCC) Indonesia Threshold Program will provide policymakers and practitioners with new, more accurate data on immunization rates throughout Indonesia.

The last nationwide immunization survey, conducted in 2002 via the Indonesia Demographic Health Survey, suggested that only some 52% of children were immunized against six major diseases. Obtaining more accurate and reliable numbers at the provincial level since the 2002 survey will benefit health officials and policy makers.

In the late 1980s, Indonesia recorded high child immunization coverage levels and, by 1990, the country had exceeded the 80% international target rate for childhood immunizations. In 1997, Indonesia experienced the beginning of a turbulent period with the Asian Financial Crisis, the end of the Suharto government, and the decentralization of key government services from the central level to more than 440 district governments. These changes adversely impacted the immunization program and performance indicators began to decline.

The results of this new survey, expected by the end of October 2007, will be crucial to establishing a more accurate baseline immunization rate for Indonesia. Under the MCC Threshold Program, Indonesia hopes to attain a national immunization coverage rate of 80% for DTP3 (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis) and 90% for measles. Not only do these two vaccines provide protection against diseases, but are also used as a common measure of availability of health services.

The survey will be coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO), which, in addition to UNICEF, is also funding the survey in certain provinces. The actual data collection will be undertaken by graduate students at the University of Indonesia, following WHO methodology.

In addition to providing a more accurate baseline, data from the survey will also inform the USAID-implemented MCC Indonesia Immunization Program which is focusing on the provinces of West Java, DKI Jakarta, Banten, Central Java, East Java, North Sumatra, and South Sulawesi. In 2006, these provinces alone contained approximately 3.05 million (62%) of Indonesia's 4.9 million children under 12 months of age, and as many as 1.6 million children who had not received either measles or the full DTP vaccination series before their first birthday. The survey will also ascertain the underlying reasons for partial or non-immunization in order to better target those weaknesses.

All MCC Threshold Program activities