Kinshasa, 25 June 2025 - A strategic alliance between the private and public sectors in the service of health is revolutionising the planning of vaccination campaigns for children in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Thanks to the innovative use of anonymised mobile operator data, the country now has concrete decision-making tools on population distribution and mobility to reach more "zero-dose" and under-vaccinated children.
The Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), Flowminder et Vodacom Congo have joined forces to use new information and communication technologies (NICT) to strengthen the routine immunisation service in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This ground-breaking partnership combines the anonymised mobile operator metadata provided by Vodacom Congo, Flowminder's analytical expertise in big data for development and humanitarian purposes, and the EPI's in-depth expertise in the immunisation ecosystem. The result is a set of recent and reliable population statistics that can be used to identify areas where demographic estimates may differ from known estimates and planners' expectations, and better meet the needs of populations.
This innovative approach provides a better understanding of population movements, particularly in rural or hard-to-reach areas. By incorporating this information into the planning of routine vaccination activities and vaccination campaigns, health authorities can now deploy vaccination teams where they are most urgently needed, thereby reducing inequalities in access to healthcare.
The Secretary General for Public Health, Dr. YUMA RAMAZANI Sylvain, is delighted with these efforts:
The Ministry is proud of the efforts made by its teams to take advantage of the innovations generated by such partnerships and the commitment of national and international players. The estimates and analyses of population mobility and distribution that will be presented and discussed at this workshop can help us to refine our planning by providing regularly updated figures, and thus confirm the reality on the ground, which is impossible to derive from traditional projections
— Dr. YUMA RAMAZANI Sylvain, Secretary General at the Ministry of Health
This partnership marks a major step forward in strengthening the routine immunisation service in the DRC. Thanks to the integration of mobility data, we can adapt our actions to the realities on the ground and reach children previously excluded from the health system. The support of Flowminder and Vodacom Congo is enabling us to innovate in a targeted way, to ensure more equitable vaccination coverage
— Dr Augustin MILABYO, EPI's Deputy Medical Director
This modelled data, combined with geospatial and conventional demographic sources, provides up-to-date, granular estimates of the distribution and mobility of the population by health zone - particularly in areas with high mobility or that have historically been under-represented. Updated every month, these statistics enable us to better anticipate needs and adapt vaccine interventions in real time.
At Vodacom Congo, we believe that every child deserves a chance to live in good health. By making our mobile operator metadata available in a secure, ethical and anonymised way, we are helping to identify children who are still missing out on vaccination campaigns. It's our way of supporting efforts to eliminate preventable diseases like polio, which can shatter lives before they even begin. Through this partnership, we are reaffirming our commitment to using technology as a lever for social justice and child protection in the DRC.
— M. Milton Nsimba, Executive Director of Governance and Risk Management at Vodacom Congo
We work to ensure that every child, including those from mobile or displaced communities, is taken into account. We are proud to provide up-to-date mobility data to guide the planning of immunisation services. Together, through our partnership with Vodacom and the EPI, we are demonstrating that innovation and multi-sector collaboration can build a more equitable system, without leaving any child behind.
— Dr Linus Bengtsson, Founder and Chair of the Board at Flowminder
The inaugural session was held at the Memling Hotel as part of a national workshop on the use of mobility data and analyses to optimise immunisation sites, with the aim of improving child immunisation coverage.
Organised by the Ministry of Public Health, with technical support from Flowminder, the workshop brought together officials from the central EPI, technical and financial partners, and key institutions such as Vodacom Congo, ARPTC and IOM. This initiative is supported by the Equity Accelerator Fund (EAF) of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
In addition, the Vodacom Foundation plans to build on this momentum by teaming up with Flowminder in the near future to use mobility data to support the humanitarian response. This commitment is part of a wider drive to harness digital technologies for the benefit of the most vulnerable populations, particularly in emergency situations.
