Indonesia is implementing the National Immunization Strategy (NIS) 2025-2029, a framework developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners to enhance primary healthcare services and advance the country toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
The strategy aligns with the global Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030) and is harmonized with Indonesia’s National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) for 2025-2029. This alignment focuses on healthcare transformation, specifically targeting disease prevention financing, public health enhancement, and the strengthening of primary care.
To ensure the strategy is financially viable, the Ministry of Health’s Directorate of Immunization Management conducted a Triangulation of NIS 2025-2029 Costing Results meeting on February 13, 2025. The session aimed to align immunization program cost calculations with regional budgets and expenditures.
The February 13 meeting involved representatives from various regional health offices, including those from Bandung City, Denpasar City, North Jakarta, Sorong City, Sleman Regency, Landak Regency, Singkawang City, Pidie Regency, and Langsa City. The NIS Core Team, including consultants from LPPKM-PKEKK FKM UI and representatives from Bappenas and Kemenko PMK, also participated to refine the implementation plan.
Addressing Immunization Workforce Gaps
A 2025 assessment revealed significant gaps in the Indonesian immunization workforce, which the WHO identifies as the cornerstone of successful delivery. The assessment found that up to 37% of primary healthcare centres, known as puskesmas, operated without trained immunization officers.
more than half of the more than 10,000 immunization officers in the country reported a lack of accredited training. These shortages were attributed to several systemic barriers, including high staff turnover, cost and distance obstacles, and policies that reserved certified training exclusively for civil-servant officers.
In response to these challenges, the WHO provided strategic assistance to the Ministry of Health in 2025 to redesign training protocols. A previous two-week training program for immunization managers was replaced with a more sustainable week-long program focused on implementation-level needs.
a new three-day training course was developed specifically for vaccinators. To reduce costs and improve accessibility, the WHO supported the integration of online components into both programs, facilitating a blended learning approach.
To improve the quality of these programs, a new training-evaluation tool was introduced. This tool addresses a previous gap where manager training relied solely on pre- and post-tests, lacking a mechanism to assess how the training was applied in real-world settings. The WHO also introduced short video job aids to maintain the quality of immunization delivery.
Surveillance and Technical Support
Efforts to strengthen the system extended beyond initial vaccination to post-immunization monitoring. The WHO conducted training sessions on adverse events following immunization (AEFI) surveillance for both national-level colleagues and provincial officers.
These surveillance trainings are part of a broader effort to support Indonesia in achieving WHO-Listed Authorities status for vaccines. On the ground, WHO vaccination technical officers trained more than 1,000 staff members from hospitals, health offices, and puskesmas across five provinces throughout 2025.
These initiatives follow a period of expanded advocacy that led to the inclusion of additional communicable diseases within the country’s health focus, including lymphatic filariasis, hepatitis, and rabies.
These developments follow long-term efforts to stabilize coverage. According to Ministry of Health records, Indonesia had strived to reach a basic immunization coverage rate of 88% by 2020, though challenges in maintaining and increasing these rates persisted into subsequent years.