The Expanded Program on Immunization in the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean (1977–2016): reasons for its success

The year 2017 marks the 40th year of the establishment of the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the regional office of the World Health Organization (WHO) in the Americas, the first WHO region certified as eliminating poliomyelitis (1994), measles (2016), and rubella and congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) (2015). The English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean subregion of the Americas paved the way in eliminating these diseases. This report highlights the innovative strategies used in this subregion that helped make the EPI a success. A review of published/unpublished reports and written and oral accounts of the experiences of Immunization Advisors and national EPI managers was conducted to identify the strategies used to strengthen the Immunization program in the subregion since its implementation by countries in 1977. The results show that these include strong collective political commitment, country-specific immunization legislation, joint use of a standard coverage monitoring chart, annual meetings of national EPI managers, collaborative development of annual national Plans of Action for Immunization, coordinated implementation of vaccination campaigns, subregional oversight of surveillance and laboratory support, a performance award system for countries, and subregional standardized templates for immunization manuals and procedural guidelines. Political will and support for immunization has been particularly strong in this subregion, where 99% of EPI costs are borne by governments. Dedicated health staff and multi-country agreement and application of strategies have led to high sustained coverage and good-quality surveillance, resulting in the absence of wild polio for 34 years, measles for 25 years, CRS for 17 years, and rubella for 15 years.