PERSPECTIVE article
Front. Digit. Health
Sec. Health Technology Implementation
Globalizing Digital Immunization Systems for the Sustainable Development Goals: A Perspective
Sunny Ibeneme 1,2
Sean Blaschke 3
Khin Devi Aung 3
Benson Droti 4
Ridwan Gustiana 5
Hillary Kipruto 4
Basil Rodriques 5
1. School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, United States
2. Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health Department of Global Health and Population, Boston, United States
3. UNICEF USA, New York, United States
4. Organisation mondiale de la Sante pour Afrique, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
5. UNICEF Office for Thailand, Bangkok, Thailand
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Abstract
While most existing digital immunization systems lack mechanisms to capture high fidelity real-time data to respond to current needs; many others are not designed to support interoperability and data sharing across the continuum of care for the health Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this paper, we used the World Health Organization (WHO) Digital Documentation of COVID-19 Certificates (DDCC) as a proxy to demonstrate and operationalize how an efficient digital immunization system could strengthen service delivery and optimize outcomes for the SDGs. This paper appraises the technical, ethical and cultural considerations for establishing DDCC and how it can be operationalized among national health systems. It demonstrates how digital health investments can support routine immunization for the SDGs and highlights the critical role global health leadership plays in shaping reforms for national digital transformation agenda. The adoption and institutionalization of digital immunization systems offer opportunities to bridge multiple information solutions and strengthen immunization service delivery towards sustainable outcomes for the SDGs. Thus, it is recommended that Development partners and implementers jointly work with governments to shape the national digital health ecosystem that connects multiple healthcare journeys for the sustainable immunization agenda 2030.
Summary
Keywords
Digital Documentation of COVID-19 Certificates, Immunization Agenda 2030, Immunization information systems, Routine immunization, Sustainable development goals
Received
17 August 2025
Accepted
09 January 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Ibeneme, Blaschke, Devi Aung, Droti, Gustiana, Kipruto and Rodriques. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Sunny Ibeneme; Khin Devi Aung
Disclaimer
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