Implementation Research for Strengthening Immunization Systems and Primary Health Care

Dear Colleagues,

Immunization remains one of the most cost-effective public health interventions, yet many countries continue to face persistent implementation challenges that limit coverage, equity, and programme performance. Achieving the goals of the Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030), reaching zero-dose and under-immunized children, and strengthening primary health care (PHC) require not only effective interventions but also high-quality evidence to inform policies, programme implementation, and health system improvements. Implementation research (IR) has emerged as a critical approach for generating context-specific evidence to identify implementation bottlenecks, evaluate strategies, and support evidence-informed decision-making.

Led by the UNICEF Implementation Research Unit within the Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (MNCAH) Section, in collaboration with the Immunization Section at the Global Health Practice Team, this Special Issue aims to document and disseminate the lessons learned, implementation experiences, and policy-relevant evidence generated through UNICEF-supported embedded IR initiatives across multiple LMICs. The collection will showcase research addressing a broad range of immunization priorities, including immunization system strengthening, immunization equity and zero-dose children, the Big Catch-Up (BCU), IA2030, integrated service delivery, digital innovations, the health workforce, governance, financing, supply chains, demand, and other implementation strategies that strengthen immunization programme performance and primary health care.

Dr. Pedro Plans-Rubió
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the Special Issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Vaccines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.