Currently, the minutes and recommendations (http://mohfw.nic.in/dofw%20website/june.pdf) of the NTAGI are published on the MoHFW website (http://mohfw.nic.in/dofw%20website/dofw.htm), to promote transparency and facilitate access to everyone. At the last meeting of the NTAGI it was resolved to increase the frequency

of meetings to twice annually initially, progressing to meeting every quarter. Recognizing the need to strengthen the functioning of the NTAGI, check details a number of issues have been proposed. The need for regular meetings of the NTAGI has been clear. Earlier meetings were announced on an ad hoc basis but in the future meetings are to be pre-scheduled. This will help to strengthen the NTAGI as an institution and to allow better monitoring of the implementation of recommendations. To achieve these goals the NTAGI has a critical need for full-time support services to provide a secretariat, as well as technical assistance for data review and developing norms and standards. A mechanism and funding for generating data (e.g., disease burden, vaccine efficacy, and cost Gefitinib effective studies) are needed to support the NTAGI’s decision-making and recommendations. Since health personnel are the backbone of the immunisation program, there is

a critical need for the NTAGI to widen its scope to include human resource issues in its agenda. Similarly, the expertise of the NTAGI may be used to monitor the progress of the UIP as well as to deliberate Sitaxentan and provide recommendations on other important issues for strengthening childhood immunisation

like improving access and coverage; optimizing utilization of resources; strengthening monitoring and supervision; reducing immunisation drop out rates by tracking children through full immunisation; and strengthening the surveillance of vaccine-preventable diseases and adverse events following immunisation. The NTAGI has evolved from an ad hoc decision-making process to one that is transparent, collective and systematic using the best available evidence for decision-making. However, wide gaps between the available and optimal evidence required have been noted. This has occurred in part because available evidence often comes from research that was not necessarily conducted to provide specific data to inform decisions such as on the choice of vaccines and their inclusion in the UIP. A more serious gap is the lack of quantitative data on the frequency of diseases or mortality from the GoI agencies concerned with disease control, such as the National Institute of Communicable Diseases and the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence. Recently there has been debate in local medical journals regarding the Indian NTAGI recommendations, e.g., the recommendation for a phased introduction of the combination pentavalent vaccine. This is seen as a healthy trend.