International evaluations of the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) have been conducted in the Americas since the 1980s, under the coordination and technical guidance of the Comprehensive Family Immunization Unit. While these evaluations focused specifically on the epidemiological surveillance system for measles in the 1990s, they were later expanded to cover all components of the EPI.
The purpose of the evaluation is to examine the EPI in the context of the health system and its broader surroundings. The evaluation looks at the program’s strengths and weaknesses, the efficiency and effectiveness of its activities and its impact on disease. It also assesses the program’s capacity to adapt to new demands, both those generated from health sector reform and decentralization, as well as those arising in response to the population’s need for access to new vaccines and technologies.
